Meehan Glad To Be Clear Of ‘Shocking' Aussie Mess

LIVE WIRE London Irish scrum-half Ben Meehan has set his heart on impressing England boss Eddie Jones after escaping the “disgraceful” events surrounding Australian rugby.

- Neale Harvey

Meehan, 24, jetted in from the Melbourne Rebels a fortnight ago with doubts swirling over the Super Rugby franchise’s future – a situation that appears to have finally been resolved following the announcement that the Western Force are to be axed instead.

Meehan, who is England qualified through Yorkshire grandparents, reckons many of his former teammates would follow him to Europe if chances arose.

“I was lucky to make my decision to come to Irish in January before everything kicked off at the Rebels, but what’s happened is disgraceful for the players and staff,” he said.

“Those boys are under enormous pressure and stress for their families and job security; one day you’re getting told by an owner that the club is one hundred per cent safe for the next 20 years, and two weeks later you read that he’s selling it.

“It’s been very hard for the guys, and on top of that we weren’t having a great season in Super Rugby so it all folded into one gunshot. It’s hard for the staff as well; if the club goes and they don’t get dealt jobs elsewhere, they’d be sacked.