Exiles' Allinson happy to have competition for place

Allinson joined Irish from Cardiff Blues in June 2010

London Irish's Darren Allison says the competition for the scrum-half position is good for the club.

Allinson will wear the number nine jersey on Sunday against Northampton in the LV= Cup - his third start in a row.

He told BBC Berkshire: "Dodge [Paul Hodgson] is one of the best defensive scrum-halves I've ever seen.

"He's been saying it's really great for him to have a bit of competition. We work hard together, and it's fantastic to work with international players."

"It's been hard work but I've really enjoyed it and I feel as if I'm giving him some competition," he added.

"It's great for both of us and we also have Alfredo Lalanne, who's an [Argentinian] international scrum-half."

He added: "I like to think I bring something different to the game - maybe a little quicker tempo and a kicking game as well. I know it's good for the club that the three of us are all fighting for the same jersey"

Despite winning just once in their last 12 games, the squad remained united, Allinson said.

"A lot of teams may have been brought down by the losing streak, but we come into training every day and everyone's got smiles on their faces.

"It's been a great place to be and you wouldn't think we were on a losing streak. It was a great game against the Ospreys and I believe we should have won against Munster.

"We're keeping the momentum going and we're looking forward to the next few games coming up and especially getting back into Premiership action."