So the list of leavers came out this week and as expected with relegation it's quite a lengthy list:
Josh Basham, Arno Botha, Joe Cokanasiga, Darren Dawidiuk, Ben Franks, Todd Gleave, Alex Lewington, Will Lloyd, Lasha Lomidze, James Marshall, Senitiki Nayalo, David Paice (retired), Richard Palframan, Tom Smallbone, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Johnny Williams, Tom Woolstencroft, Piet van Zyl
Some of them will be of no surprise for example the two mid season joiners who were only ever on short term contracts. By all means it would have been great to keep them due to the positive impact but it just isn't too be. That said however I will discuss a few...
Big Joe personally I think is a big loss for the future however if any of you have read his social media posts it was obviously a hard decision to make and I think for him it was done for the right reasons and with a heavy heart. I hope to see him wearing the England Rose soon as he certainly deserves it and maybe we will see him in Green again in the future. My partner certainly will miss Big Joe (and Alex Lewington) which will make it much harder for me to convince her to join me at the Mad Stad.
Johnny Williams again whilst being another loss for the future I can understand why he had made the decision, I wish the club had managed to agree loan deals for some of these players. This would have benefited the club long term whilst still investing in long term player development. I'm sure this was explored but for whatever reasons just didn't come about.
Darren Dawidiuk I was surprised is leaving having only signed for this season, he is off to Coventry the other new faces to the Championship, whilst I wish him luck and I'm so glad he has managed to bounce back from the difficulties he has had this year, I feel there is more to this move that what meets the eye.
My last player to mention has to be David Paice and all I can say is thank you. He was a true club servant through thick and thin and he certainly stood up for his team (even if it did involve him spending time in the bin). Enjoy your retirement.
Despite the list of leavers, Irish still have plenty of young blood, Ben Loader is an obvious example and a reason why the academy is a worthwhile investment from the club despite sometimes feeling like it builds other teams more, I feel that's just the nature of producing young talent. Irish do gain from the academy and hopefully we can use this season to develop those players and I hope we continue to invest. Irish additionally have made some good signings to hopefully plug some of the gaps and build a more rounded squad next season.
Most importantly I wish all the leavers the best of luck in their future, I hope we seem them play somewhere along our journeys in the future and they'll always be part of London Irish.
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