London Irish failed to match my ambition says Tom Homer

Tom Homer admits London Irish‘s lack of success made it impossible to resist the lure of a fresh start and the chance to compete for top silverware at Bath.
After appearing in the 2009 Premiership final as an 18-year-old for Irish against Leicester, great things were expected of the full-back, who starred for England U20s.
But Irish’s decline, combined with frustrating spells out through injury, persuaded Homer, right, his international ambitions would be better served by linking up with former Exiles colleagues and current England men Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson.
Homer told The Rugby Paper: “Getting to that final in my first year and just falling short made me hungry for success, but things didn’t go our way and people moved on.
“That’s part of the game but the way things were at London Irish meant winning the Premiership was out of the picture, but now I’m here it’s a possibility.
“I had a number of chats with Bob Casey (London Irish operations director) and he gave me details of his plans for the future and the direction he wanted to take, so it wasn’t a decision based on where Irish are going because I feel the club is in great hands.
“But I’d had a pretty rough couple of years with injuries at Irish and wasn’t playing much. It was just setback after setback and I felt I needed a change really.”
On the prospect of teaming up with England heroes Joseph and Watson, Homer, 24, says: “Having played with both, it’s not the biggest surprise to see them doing it on the international stage and it’ll be a privilege to be on the same pitch as them again.
“I’ve got my own ambitions for the future but right now it’s about earning the respect of my new teammates and becoming the best player I can be. There are aspects of my game to work on and I must improve my rugby IQ to achieve those goals.”
Of Bath’s title challenge, he adds: “It’s great to be involved at the top end again and that’s where you want to play rugby, to be mixing it with the best.
“There’s huge expectation at Bath, but that pressure comes more from the players. We expect to win and don’t want to settle for anything less. It’s great to be amongst it.”
NEALE HARVEY