Ojo insists the future for London Irish is no longer topsy turvy

Topsy Ojo has been one of the constant factors in an ever- changing London Irish team who celebrated their first win in the Premiership at Worcester on Saturday.

Having been beaten 42-20 in the opening game by Saracens it appeared the doomsayers, who had predicted relegation this season, had every reason to be gloomy.

However, two tries from England wing Marland Yarde helped Irish earn a 20-18 win at Worcester to bolster confidence and allow Ojo and his team-mates to approach next weekend’s clash with Exeter in good heart.

Ojo, the former England wing, is currently playing full-back and his presence along with captain Declan Danaher and hooker David Paice provides comfort to Irish fans who have been struggling to keep up with the revolving door in recent seasons.

Nearly a whole team left last summer, including England internationals Alex Corbisiero (Northampton) and Jonathan Joseph (Bath), but Ojo remains and his loyalty to the club has been rewarded with a testimonial year to mark his decade at Irish.

So, with all the comings and goings, did Ojo ever think about quitting?

“You do see people leave and it’s natural that thoughts come into your head about your own future but I have always been happy at Irish,” said the 28-year-old Tottenham-born wing.

“Irish have been good to me and I always wanted to win things with them having grown up with the club and that made it easy each time it came to signing a new contract.

“Myself, Declan and David are the three longest-serving players and the club are ensuring guys sign long-term deals so we get continuity which is so important in creating a stable squad.

“The new training ground near our current base at Sunbury has been a long time coming and it’s incredibly exciting to see everything now taking shape. It will be great to get in there next year. We want to be on a level playing field with the other Premiership clubs, so we did need to redevelop and move to new facilities.”

While Ojo has always provided Irish with outstanding pace, the team’s attacking threat also boasts the blossoming skills of Yarde, who is pressing for inclusion in the England team for the autumn internationals having scored two tries on his debut in Argentina this summer.

Ojo added: “Marland has the potential to be world class. He has just enjoyed a massive 18 months with the club and made his England debut.

“The two tries at Worcester showed what he is capable of and he now has three in just two matches. You need someone like Marland in your team because he is a proven finisher and he is going to have another big year.

“With the Worcester match being Dean Ryan’s first in charge at home, it was always going to be a major challenge but we had a solid performance.It’s so important to get that first win to kick-start your season.

“You can then start to build and add things to your repertoire and there is a real buzz around the place with the guys looking forward to getting back into training. What you don’t want to be is yo-yoing from a win one week to a loss the next, so we need to put in another good performance.”