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Delon Armitage
Looking ahead: Delon Armitage is focused on winning the Guinness Premiership and playing in England’s summer internationals

Delon Armitage still has everything to play for despite tour snub

Chris Jones
15 May 2009


Delon Armitage has faced a hectic week, featuring the arrival of baby daughter Chloe, qualification for tomorrow's Guinness Premiership Final and speculation over a late Lions call-up.

It would be enough to faze any player. However, Armitage is coming to the end of a remarkable season that has seen him not only break into the England team, but make the No15 jersey his own.

Tom Shanklin's shoulder injury raised hopes the Exiles star would be drafted into the Lions squad but it now seems Ian McGeechan will not call up a replacement.

But missing out on the Lions has not affected Armitage's focus as he still has plenty to play for this summer.

"It was really tough not being selected for the Lions and I was hoping I had done as much as I could on the pitch," said Armitage, whose brother Steffon, 23, will also line-up for Irish tomorrow. "I hoped to have an outside chance of making the tour but I have to put all that behind me now and concentrate on helping Irish in the final and then try to keep hold of my England place for the games against the Barbarians and Argentina this summer.

"We have worked really hard at Irish to get into this position - our aim coming into the season was to finish in the top four and we achieved that target. Now have the chance to win the title."

Armitage will be playing outside 37-year-old Mike Catt, who will wear the No10 jersey tomorrow, and there is genuine respect for what the ex-England utility back is achieving in his player-coach role with Irish.

Armitage is 25 and cannot envisage still playing top-class rugby in a dozen years' time.

He said: "Catt is amazingly fit and tops the charts. You cannot say "Hey, you are getting old" because he's finishing in the front, still kicking a ball to international level and controlling the game fantastically well.

"Of course we do give him stick about trying to be the oldest-ever player and when he was ill before the semi-final win over Harlequins we told him he had swine flu and would take longer than a young guy to recover."

Leicester will be wary of the impact the Armitage brothers can make and Delon knows that victory over the Heineken Cup finalists will make everyone take notice.

"We have had some really tight games with Leicester and they know we can score tries but they are a really strong outfit," he said. "However, anything can happen at Twickenham."

* Delon Armitage is supporting Gatorade's sponsorship of the Guinness Premiership.

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