Normally a flanker, Conor Gilsenan has been handed the No 8 shirt for Sunday's game.

Conor retains place for wasps clash

London Irish face a trip to Adams Park to take on Wasps in the LV= Cup on Sunday and lining out at No 8 will be Mullingar man, Conor Gilsenan.

With a burst of game time of late in the European, Premiership and now LV= Cup campaigns, including a Man of the Match performance last week against Leicester, Conor is settling into life as an Exile.

“I’ve been here about four or five months now”, the back rower said. “Obviously in the first month or two there was a lot of adjusting to do but I’m very comfortable in my surroundings now and really enjoying living in London.

Conor has seen a lot of game time recently, featuring in all of the last three games, including a start in the European Challenge Cup versus Rovigo Delta.

“It makes it all the more enjoyable when you’re getting that game time, you feel yourself improving by playing against quality players and getting more feedback from coaches as you are involved at the weekend and you are the one carrying the shirt”, Conor said this week.

After this weekend, it is the return of the Premiership with Irish facing a long trip North to play Sale at the AJ Bell, but Conor is 100% focused on the challenge this weekend.

“For me it about just trying to put in another good shift and try and impress and try and put my name in the coaches head. We have to just keep building momentum and build together as a squad”, added Conor.