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London Irish confirm seven Senior Academy signings

THE LONDON Irish Academy confirmed seven signings are to be added to the Senior Academy roster ahead of the new 2022/23 season.

Oran Murphy, Afolabi Fasogbon, Jarleth Gleeson, Ollie Allan, Oliver Stirling, Connor Cross and Jake Shortland will be welcomed into the Senior Academy set-up this summer.

Five of the seven new additions have represented their respective countries at age-grade level with all but one player a product of the London Irish Development Player Programme (DPP).

Murphy and Fasogbon are the Exiles’ two new front-row forwards, both of which are props, who have developed at Sunbury-based Bishop Wand School in recent years with the lattermost of whom joining Irish at under-15 level.

Murphy has been selected in the Ireland under-18 Schools squad as an Irish qualified player, whilst Fasogbon has been capped for England at under-18 level, making his first international involvement against Italy at Millfield School last August.

Gleeson, of City of London Freemans School, is the sole second-row forward addition who has additionally achieved international honours with Ireland’s under-18s squad.

Allan, a fellow under-18s international who made his England debut alongside teammate and fellow graduate Fasogbon last year, is Irish’s new scrum-half inclusion of Bishop Wand School.

🖋️ 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝟭𝟴 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 ✅@AcademyIrish can confirm seven new signatures to the Senior Academy roster ahead of the new 2022/23 season.

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— London Irish (@londonirish) June 22, 2022

Scotland under-18 international Stirling, a back-row forward, has advanced from the Harrow School in west London, whose alumni detail Henry Arundell.

London Irish also welcome two new exciting centres in Cross and Shortland, the former being the third of the group to be capped for England under-18s.

Cross joins from the nearby Hampton School and Shortland follows in the footsteps of previous inductee Mikey Summerfield from Hartpury College in Gloucester.

Head of Academy Patrick O’Grady gave thanks to the efforts of the new cohort and their associated schools to enable them to reach the Senior Academy.

“Foremostly, I’d like to welcome our seven boys to the London Irish Senior Academy and congratulate them for all their diligence, hard work and determination that has allowed them to reach this very rare opportunity,” O’Grady stated.

“The boys have earned their right to progress to the peak of our Academy and perhaps most pertinently their institutions too have played a crucial role in their development and maturation into a fine group of rugby players, so many thanks to them.

“Myself, the Academy staff and wider rugby department are all incredibly excited to have these players stay within our ranks, further elevate competition within the squad and are looking forward to seeing which of these boys grasp the opportunity to take the next steps in their career at London Irish.”