By Bryn Palmer

Ojo is in prolific try-scoring form

Tom Varndell may be the hottest young finisher in English rugby right now.

But when the Leicester flier (21 tries in 22 games this season) faces London Irish in Sunday's Guinness Premiership semi-final, he won't be the only 20-year-old wing with pace to burn and an eye for the try-line.

Topsy Ojo (right) may not yet be a household name, but his strike-rate bears comparison with the free-scoring Varndell.

Since marking his first-team debut with a try against Wasps in the Powergen Cup last October, Ojo has taken his tally to 13 in 15 outings.

Five of those have come in his last three games, including two in a startling nine-try humbling of the champions on their own patch a fortnight ago which secured the Exiles' play-off place.

That 56-37 victory was a ninth consecutive away win in all competitions stretching back to late November and a 35-3 drubbing at Welford Road, venue for Sunday's set-to.

IRISH ON THEIR RECENT TRAVELS 17 Dec: Agen (ECC) W 32-24 27 Dec: Sarries (GP) W 20-19 14 Jan: Parma (ECC) W 19-11 28 Jan: Gloucs (GP) W 13-9 18 Feb: Bath (GP) W 33-28 12 Mar: Bristol (GP) W 21-20 08 Apr: Worcs (GP) W 12-10 23 Apr: Newc (ECC) W 27-22 30 Apr: Wasps (GP) W 56-37

Leicester, seeking to regain the crown they last held in 2002, will start favourites, but a sign of the Exiles' progress is that it would be not be a major shock if they won.

"It is another opportunity for us but we are not going to pile too much pressure on ourselves," Ojo told BBC Sport.

"It obviously raises the profile of a few of the lads at the club, which is good. But we will just go up there, have a go at them and see where it takes us."

That approach has taken Irish to places most observers did not believe them capable of until Brian Smith, the former Australia and Ireland fly-half, took the reins this season.

A workaholic outfit, whose honest graft was enough to keep them out of trouble and the craic flowing, has metamorphosed into the Premiership's great entertainers.

Having collected a measly 39 tries in all competitions last season, Ojo's opening try against Saracens last Saturday took them into three figures for the current campaign.

My whole aim this season was just to get in the team and score tries Topsy Ojo

"Brian has definitely changed the way we have been playing," Ojo explained. "Before, we weren't really thinking about our rugby.

"It was a case of 'your role is this, yours is to do that'. This year, although we have a structure, Brian says: 'It is up to you guys to read what is going on and play it as you see it'.

"At the start of the season our main aim was to get into the Heineken Cup via our league position. But in the back of our minds, once we got to Christmas, was if we kept playing well, we might get in the play-offs. As it is we finished third.

"No-one expected us to be up there, but people seem to have enjoyed the way we have gone about it."

Irish have two of the Premiership's top line-out operators in Nick Kennedy and Bob Casey, and veteran Frenchman Olivier Magne and Argentine number eight Juan Leguizamon have added finesse and power to the back row.

New Zealander Flutey has provided a creative spark at fly-half

The arrival of Kiwi fly-half Riki Flutey in the autumn provided a greater creative edge, while Mike Catt's Indian summer shows no sign of abating.

These days the Exiles also have plenty of strike power, with full-back Delon Armitage (15 tries this season) and Ojo, a member of England's Under-21 side, adding a cutting edge.

Having already booked a European Challenge Cup final date with Gloucester at The Stoop on 21 May, the Exiles will be over the road at Twickenham the following Saturday for the Premiership final if they emerge victorious this weekend.

It is the biggest game yet of Ojo's fledgling career, but any pre-match nerves will be directed elsewhere on Saturday.

Despite being born in Tottenham and attending Dartford Grammar School in Kent, he is a devout Liverpool fan and will be engrossed in their FA Cup final date with West Ham.

"I usually go a to a few games every season and could have gone to the final," he added. "But I'll definitely be watching."

In recent weeks Ojo has had a taste of the attention waiting for him if he continues his rapid rise through the ranks.

As Leicester could find out on Sunday, he may not be waiting in the wings much longer.