Thorpe is a product of the London Irish academy

London Irish flanker Richard Thorpe says the forwards take responsibility for the Exiles' recent defeats.

Irish host Toulon in the Heineken Cup this Sunday, having lost their last three Premiership matches.

He told BBC Berkshire: "We have to put our hands up. We haven't been presenting the backs with quality ball.

"We've got some of the best players in the world in our backline. It's a question of us as a pack of forwards getting that ball cleanly to them."

And Thorpe said having two rounds of the Heineken Cup coming up was an ideal break from domestic struggles.

"It's fantastic to change focus," he explained. "We've had a string of losses and we need something fresh to refocus the minds. Now really is the time.

"This team is just waiting to grab the bull by the horns and show what we can do."

Facing Toulon pitches Thorpe against former Exile Paul Sackey, who was a senior player at Irish when Thorpe was in the club's academy. He said playing against him and Jonny Wilkinson was something he was looking forward to.

"[Wilkinson] is a massive name in world rugby. It's always nice to play against players like that, particularly with me being a back-row and him a fly-half - you tend to get those opportunities to give him a bit of a filling in on the floor which is what it's all about and I do really enjoy those opportunities," he joked.

"I always enjoy playing against Sackey. He's a top fellow and a very good player and very much like Jonny Wilkinson, I'll enjoy giving him a few at the bottom of the ruck!"

London Irish versus Toulon kicks off at 1500 GMT on Sunday 12 December and is live on BBC Berkshire.

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