Irish must up tempo to sap Sharks power

TOM Homer has warned London Irish to front-up or be smashed by a power-packed Sale side who in recent years have routinely embarrassed the Exiles.

- NEALE HARVEY

Sharks sank the Irish 41-7 in last season’s first meeting in Reading before ripping them apart 39-0 at the AJ Bell Stadium, extending a run that has seen Steve Diamond’s men rack up six successive victories over Exiles, notching 27 tries along the way.

Full-back Homer, who rejoined Irish from Bath in July, told The Rugby Paper: “They’re a big, physical team and once they get going, they’re pretty hard to stop. We must play with a high tempo and move the point of contact because we don’t want to try and beat them at their own game – they’ve been doing it for a long time now and they’re very good at it.

“We met the physical challenge against Leicester last week and that starts with the defense, which on the whole was outstanding, especially close to our own line. We’ve got to replicate that this week and then we know we’ve got some good attacking threats. We like to keep the ball alive and if we can make our passes stick, it’ll be a good day.”