“Relegation threat keeps it interesting” – London Irish Ian Humphreys

London Irish may be struggling in the Premiership but fly-half Ian Humphreys is not joining the clamour for relegation to be scrapped.
Nor, insists the Ulsterman, will the Exiles compromise their attacking principles in favour of grinding out wins.
Humphreys, 30, cherishes being part of a team that plays rugby to lift spectators from their seats.
He said: “Personally, I think relegation brings a bit of extra excitement to the league.
“If there was no relegation perhaps clubs would switch off and concentrate on the cups with an attitude of ‘if we go well in the league, brilliant, if not, who cares?’
“Having relegation means every game is vital and everyone’s scrapping.
“There were games with Ulster in the RaboDirect when the international players couldn’t play that weren’t great or enjoyable to play in. So far here all the games have been enjoyable.
“I loved my Friday nights at Ravenhill, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something different about the Premiership, you feel that big match buzz in every game you play.”
In an era when sides habitually use the threat of relegation as an excuse to limit their game, Humphreys offers a refreshingly different perspective.
Newcastle adopted an efficient but attritional kicking game in attempting to avert the drop last season before falling short on the final day.
But with effervescent stars like Tom Homer, Jonathan Joseph, Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau in their line-up, Humphreys is adamant Irish will fight their way out of trouble by playing expansive rugby.
“Obviously, if the weather gets bad we can’t be as open as we’d like, but we still have a team that wants to play attractive rugby and that’s how we’re going to play.
“We have a backline to die for and all our forwards are good footballers as well, so we just have to concentrate on making sure our defence and discipline is right.”
Some might question Humphreys’ sanity in leaving an ultra-successful Irish province in Ulster for a middling Premiership outfit.
But after finding himself dropped to Ulster’s bench for last season’s Heineken Cup semi-final and final, he had to be realistic.
“I’d started all our Pool matches and the quarter-final against Munster but then got left on the bench, which was pretty hard to take,” he admits.
“Paddy Jackson came in and Ruan Pienaar can play 10 so I probably would have been second or third choice.
“Brian Smith was keen to bring me to Irish and it’s been brilliant. I nearly joined five years ago and, with hindsight, I probably should have.
“I enjoyed playing in the Premiership before with Leicester and that was another big draw in coming back.”
Despite Shaun Edwards being on Irish’s coaching staff, almost 300 points conceded means their defence is the worst in the league.
That and his side’s poor discipline are areas Humphreys knows must be improved.
He said: “It’s small things that have gone against us: individual decisions, game management on my behalf and a bit of ill-discipline.
“But they’re all fixable and it’s not like we’re getting hammered 50-0, we’re getting beaten by narrow margins in high-scoring games.
“We’ve scored plenty of points and created lots of chances, so if we can just sort out our defensive issues we’ll be in very good shape.”
NEALE HARVEY