London Irish can turn on the style at the Madejski

Championship playoff final second leg
Sky Sports 1, 7.45pm Wednesday

London Irish were made to work hard in the first leg of their Championship playoff final against Yorkshire Carnegie last week but they are 14-point favourites for the conclusion at the Madejski Stadium.

The Exiles are unbeaten at their Reading base this season and their run includes an emphatic 41-17 victory when they hosted Carnegie in December.

Irish are without suspended Fijian centre Aseli Tikoirotuma, but the fact that they can replace him with an inter­national in Canadian Ciaran Hearn reveals a lot about the gulf in class between the squads.

That may not have been too apparent at Headingley last week, when the hosts took a half-time lead before succumbing 29-18.

But Irish will feel they have done the hard work and can set about turning on the style in front of their own fans.

Backing the Exiles on the second-half handicap looks the best option once prices become available, but the match line still looks within their reach.

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