As befits a man with deep-rooted Irish connections courtesy of a mother from Belfast, South Londonborn Caolan Englefield is delighted to be in the vanguard of a London Irish revival that seeks to tap into its old country heritage following the move to Brentford.

A product Old Rutlishians RFC in Merton, Englefield was on the books of Harlequins from the age of 13. Unusually, however, he reveals how he became attached to both Quins and London Irish before the latter took the plunge and gave him a shot at the big time.
Englefield, just 21, explained: “I was at Quins, but at 16 I was playing a ...