Alex Gray hopes fast start can earn green light at London Irish

London Irish No.8 Alex Gray is hoping for ‘second season syndrome’ in reverse as he looks to put a disappointing first year at the Exiles behind him.
The former England U20s captain attracted criticism last summer by walking out on struggling Newcastle to try to make his name in the South.
But like the Harlequins duo of Danny Care and Rory Clegg before him, Gray discovered the transition to London life was anything but straightforward.
A succession of niggling injuries restricted his appearances, but with some intense conditioning now behind him, he feels ready to make an impact.
Gray said: “I fell out of contention a bit last season, which was really frustrating because being a young player I just wanted to play.
“When I did play I thought I did all right, so this season I’ll be looking to be in from the off and push the senior back row players for a spot.
“I’m really looking forward to this year. With the new coaching staff and the playing group we’ve got, we can look forward to a really good season.  We’ve been playing a lot with ball in hand in pre-season, so hopefully we’ll carry on like that and I’m excited about how things are shaping up.”
Former Newcastle coaches John Fletcher and Alan Tait felt Gray would have been better advised to continue his development in the North-east.
But Gray said: “It was a rugby-based decision and I needed to push myself. I needed an environment where the club had ambition.
“There’s some good rugby being played at Irish and you’ve seen that by the way Jonathan Joseph’s developed and been capped by England.
“I’ve got high ambitions of my own and, at the time, Newcastle didn’t fit that. I believe London Irish do and I couldn’t be happier really.
“I’m a northern lad through and through and it was tough leaving Newcastle because it’s a great place to play, but I had to go for it.
“I weighed-up what I wanted to achieve and I couldn’t wait for another year because there’d be other players coming through.
“At 20 you’ve got to do the best thing for your future. I didn’t want to waste my time, so I put my rugby first and came to London Irish.”
Gray has worked hard on his physique over the summer, bulking up to an extent that he feels far better prepared for the rigours ahead.
He said: “For a young player, especially in the forwards, you’ve got to do that work in the gym and Irish have put a lot of time into me.
“That was a big ‘work on’ of mine over the summer and I feel more competitive now, so hopefully my performances will improve as well.”
NEALE HARVEY