Irish without Coleman ahead of daunting Exeter clash

London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney expects Adam Coleman to be out for at least six weeks after the injury-jinxed Australian lock suffered ankle ligament damage against Gloucester last week.

Coleman, who missed the start of the season following shoulder surgery, only returned to the starting line-up last month but will now spend another extended stint on the sidelines after suffering the injury in the early stages of his side’s 31-22 win.

The loss of the Wallabies forward comes on the back of veteran front-rower Sekope Kepu’s exit on Monday due to personal reasons ahead of the Exiles’ daunting trip to European and Premiership champions Exeter on Saturday.

“It is going to take a few weeks, Adam has been to see a specialist and we won’t be seeing him again for a few weeks,” Kidney said.

“If we see him back before the end of March we will do well.

“They are two world class players but it is like that every team in the competition and you get these periods.

“It’s unfortunate for Adam, he had surgery in the summer to get right, had some hiccups on the way back so it has been very frustrating for him and us.”

The Exiles go into Saturday afternoon’s clash on the back of two successive wins and sit in sixth spot on the table.

Irish recorded a shock win over Exeter at Sandy Park at the end of last season on the back of nine successive losses, and albeit against an under-manned Chiefs side, scrum-half Ben Meehan believes that victory will mean something ahead of the game.

“Winning is winning,” Meehan said.

“We hadn’t won down there for so long so it was good psychological win. But we know they are going to be right up for this one.

“Exeter are the European and Prem champions so we know what comes with that at their home ground.

“It will be good to see where we are at as a team after this weekend.”