Sinclair starts for Irish against Tigers

Jebb Sinclair has been named on the flank for London Irish as they host Leicester Tigers at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on Sunday. The fixture kicks off the Aviva Premiership season for the two teams with high hopes after a busy off-season of acquisitions. Sinclair returns for his fifth season with the club, after joining the team following the 2011 World Cup, and has featured prominently since as both a lock and loose forward.

Super Rugby signings Matt Symons and Brendan McKibbin will make their league debuts for Irish along with Welsh international Rob McCusker. It also marks the beginning of new head coach Tom Coventry’s tenure after joining from Chiefs in New Zealand. Coventry was also employed as an assistant coach with Manu Samoa, a position he departed prior to the World Cup.

Leicester have two Argentine players on their roster, neither of whom will be dressing on Sunday. Marcos Ayerza is unavailable with World Cup commitments and Gonzalo Camacho is once again injured, still recovering from a thigh injury suffered in a Tigers pre-season match.

LONDON IRISH
1 Tom Court 2 David Paice 3 Halani Aulika 4 George Skivington (capt.) 5 Matt Symons 6 Jebb Sinclair 7 Luke Narraway 8 Rob McCusker 9 Brendan McKibbin 10 Chris Noakes 11 Topsy Ojo 12 Eoin Griffin 13 Tom Fowlie 14 Alex Lewington 15 Andrew Fenby

16 Gerard Ellis 17 Tom Smallbone 18 Leo Halavatau 19 Eoin Sheriff 20 David Sisi 21 Scott Steele 22 Shane Geraghty 23 Fergus Mulchrone

LEICESTER
1 Logovi’i Mulipola 2 Greg Bateman 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Mike Williams 5 Michael Fitzgerald 6 Tom Croft 7 Locky McCaffrey 8 Laurence Pearce 9 Sam Harrison 10 Tommy Bell 11 Matt Smith 12 Seremaia Bai 13 Peter Betham 14 Adam Thompstone 15 Mathew Tait (capt.)

16 Harry Thacker 17 Riccardo Brugnara 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Sebastien de Chaves 20 Opeti Fonua 21 Ben White 22 Owen Williams 23 George Catchpole