Date: Thu 14 Feb 2013

There is no doubt that Topsy Ojo had more than earned his place amongst the true greats in London Irish history before he sauntered over the whitewash to capture the all-time try scoring record in October.

Topsy Ojo has long since secured his legacy in the hearts and minds of London Irish supporters before this season - the fact his try against Mont de Marsan in the Amlin carved his name in the cold stone of club history as record try-scorer merely seemed a fitting accessory to his glittering club career.

All Exiles faithful have a favourite personal memory provided courtesy of the accelerant architect who has graced the flanks of our great club since his debut in 2005 against our next league opponents Wasps. For many of us it was the scintillating effort against Toulouse at Headquarters in 2008, but we are not short of options.

In fact, London Irish supporters are blessed to have Topsy at the Club. It is hard to believe that he is just twenty-seven years old, and it is an encouraging thought that there is plenty more to come from the articulate and calmly-spoken Tottenham-born flying ace.

Until Christmas, the record was indeed a high point in an otherwise difficult season for everyone affiliated with the Club; but in true London Irish fashion neither Topsy himself or the supporters were willing to let the tricky circumstances overshadow a truly historic achievement.

"That was a big personal milestone for me, when I found out I felt really proud. Conor O'Shea and Justin Bishop are two legends of this club and are two guys that really helped me - I just want to try and set it as high as possible now and make sure that it doesn't get broken for quite a long time!"

With Sailosi Tagicakibau coming up the rail, Ojo says he has to keep his eyes on the prize, laughing,

"He keeps joking that he's going to catch me, he's about ten or eleven behind, so each time he scores I make sure I score. It's good to keep each other on our toes and push each other; of course we both want to score tries!"

Topsy is pragmatic about the challenges presented by the season so far; Irish have had a promising start to the year, after a tough period before Christmas. He says London Irish is a work in progress, and one he is committed to and naturally proud to be a part of,

"We started with a lot of optimism and belief in how things were going to turn out but things haven't gone to plan and you have to adapt. With everything that went on in the summer and with a lot of changes it was going to take time to gel, longer than maybe I thought. I wanted to hit the ground running at the start of the season but obviously these things take time.

"It's good to take a step back sometimes and think about everything - you look at the teams which have been doing well - they've been together quite a while. You need that core to have been together and to have gelled and progressed to the top and stayed there. It's something to learn.

"The thing with this squad - we were disappointed with the losses but if you look at how close we've been the nature of the squad and the talent within it we are all of the belief that we know we're not far off, which has been great. it has been little lapses here and there - things that can be fixed and we know we have to because of the position we've got ourselves in.

"Deep down we know we can get it right and that the potential is there. You need a bit of luck, especially in the Premiership, it's very tight - with one or two wins on the bounce things will look very different.

Indeed since the turn of the year Irish have finally got some momentum together, ignited by a tough win at Gloucester, and continued through the Amlin and LV competitions. It's no secret that the squad urgently need more of the same in the Aviva Premiership however, agrees Ojo, saying

"Fortunes have changed! It's been really good to build momentum into the Saracens match. We are not where we want to be in the League, but the win at Gloucester was a massive confidence boost for us. Morale is higher, and we feel good about ourselves.

"To be honest we didn't play that well. We were solid in defence and when they made a couple of line breaks we scrambled really well. A lot of the 50-50s went our way, and a few of the calls too. For Skiv's second try we chased really well and their back three fumbled it, a lot of the breaks were going our way which is what we needed.

"That has been the catalyst, the benchmark for the following weeks, and we are trying to improve on it every week."

Topsy is entering the prime of his career by seasoned any Rugby aficionado's reckoning, and following the unfortunate turn of events in 2008, he hasn't seen any action on the international front.

As a player now he seems the complete article to the Irish faithful - his defence and positional play has gained parity with the trademark electric finishing of his youth, and it seems bizarre, albeit admittedly through a set of green-tinted glasses, that he has not been considered for an England squad under Stuart Lancaster.

Ojo is candid about his disappointment and cites an unhappy confluence between the fortunes of his Club and his international prospects. England have been in touch but Irish need to improve as a unit for his star to shine, he admits,

"I'd love to be back in the England squad. I've never given up on that. I spoke to Stuart in the summer, and the message was be fit, be healthy, have a really good start to the season, and we'll see what's what after that. Obviously it has been quite tough here at Irish, personally I feel I've been playing well, but you need the team to be doing well.

"It's a strange one. When you are not in the system it's harder to get back in now and I think your club needs to be doing well as well as you in order for you to get that recognition. I haven't given up and I'm still hopeful and if we turn things around more people will start to take notice of Irish and selectors will.

"Take JJ - he had a great summer tour, even though we weren't doing well, they still wanted him there and I know there is an opportunity and it gives me hope. First and foremost things at Irish need to be a lot better and we need to turn around our fortunes and hopefully things can progress from there."

Glad as we are to have him here today, every London Irish supporter, no matter how parochial we might be feeling, would wish Topsy well in his ambition.

To matters at hand today, we owe old foes Sarries for the opening day massacre at HQ - and Topsy contends that London Irish have a particularly potent blend of youth and experience, and are up to the job. He says,

"It's a give and take type thing. The young guys bring the enthusiasm, they're fresh to the game, they just want to play rugby - the senior guys need to take that pressure and use it to improve their own performance but at the same time develop them so when it all comes together you have the senior guys steering the ship and the younger guys bringing the energy. Hopefully it creates a successful squad!"