London Irish v Worcester- LV= Cup match preview
Centre Josh Matavesi and wing David Lemi have both been recalled as Worcester Warriors resume LV= Cup action.
Last Updated: 27/01/13 4:56pm
Matavesi is recalled to partner Jon Clarke in midfield whilst Samoa captain Lemi features for the first time since the narrow league defeat to Leicester Tigers in early January.
Props James Currie and Ceri Jones are also handed starting spots while impressive young flanker Richard De Carpentier is also selected.
Meanwhile, London Irish will be strengthened this weekend by the return of Sailosi Tagicakibau to the starting lineup.
The Samoa International will join Guy Armitage in the centres. Shane Geraghty and Pat Phibbs are the starting half backs, with Geraghty again captaining the side.
After missing the last two rounds of the Amlin cup, Phibbs and Canadian International, Jebb Sinclair, come back in.
Irish have also confirmed the signings of Mike Mayhew and Davey McGregor on short-term loan deals from Newcastle and Coventry respectively.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Guy Armitage, 12 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Shane Geraghty (c), 9 Pat Phibbs, 8 Chris Hala'ufia, 7 Jebb Sinclair, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 George Skivington, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Mike Mayhew, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Davey McGregor, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Anthony Watson, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Jack Moates.
Worcester: 15 Ernie Claassens, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Danny Gray, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Blair Cowan, 7 Jake Abbott, 6 Richard de Carpentier, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Dean Schofield (c), 3 James Currie, 2 Ollie Hayes, 1 Ceri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Rob O'Donnell, 18 John Andress, 19 James Percival, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Ollie Frost, 22 Andy Goode, 23 Andy Short.
What they said...
Worcester head coach Richard Hill
"It is a big game and we understand that London Irish are really going to go for it too. But we are in a good position; we are top of the league at the moment.
"Next week we are playing Saracens at home and they are missing quite a few of their players, including their backs with the England call-ups, so we have a huge opportunity there.
"London Irish are really going to put a strong side out. However, last time they played here we managed to win and get the bonus try and it went very well. That'll be in our minds and we have talked about how we did that last time and try to replicate that."
London Irish boss Brian Smith
"Our opponents on Sunday are also joint top of their Pool so like us they have a lot to play for. Worcester have a very strong squad and we're expecting an epic cup battle."
