Six players at London Irish agree new deals

Six players have committed their immediate futures to London Irish as the club confirmed their first round of contract renewals.

Ben Atkins, Jack Cooke, James Stokes, Jacob Atkins, Isaac Curtis-Harris and Ireland qualified scrumhalf Caolan Englefield have all penned new deals with the Exiles.

Curtis-Harris, who joined the Club’s senior Academy during the 2016/17 campaign, has also put pen to paper to extend his stay with the Exiles. To date, Curtis-Harris has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Irish.

Cooke came through the London Irish Academy system and has gone on to make 26 appearances for the Exiles so far. The back row, who once ran out at the Madejski Stadium as a mascot holding the then captain Bob Casey’s hand, skippered the Exiles for the first time in the 2019/20 season.

Full-back James Stokes has made 27 appearances for the Exiles in his first two seasons with the Club. Stokes has been in good form this season, scoring a brace of tries against Pau in the European Rugby Challenge Cup, showing his versatility in the backline having played at full-back, wing and in the centres during the 2020/21 campaign.

23-year-old fly-half Jacob Atkins, who joined the London Irish Academy by virtue of coming through the AASE programme at the start of the 2016/17 season, featured in both the Gallagher Premiership and European Challenge Cup during this season’s campaign and has made 40 appearances for the Club in all competitions.

Ben Atkins, who graduated through the AASE programme and has represented England at both U19 and U20 level, has made seven appearances in the front row for the Exiles to date.

Scrum-half Caolan Englefield, an Irish U19 international, meanwhile, has appeared on six occasions, with two of those arriving in the 2020/21 season.

London Irish finished ninth in this season Gallagher Premiership, their second consecutive season since being promoted at the end of the 2018/19 RFU Championship season.