LONDON Irish legend Topsy Ojo has billed Saturday’s St Patrick’s Day party against Cornish Pirates (2pm) as the club’s biggest game of the season so far, writes Richard Ashton.

A bumper crowd of more than 10,000 people is expected at Madejski Stadium as the table-topping Exiles aim to extend their unbeaten league record to 17 matches.

However, the club’s all-time top try scorer, who notched his 78th for Exiles during their 37-14 British & Irish Cup quarter-final victory against Yorkshire Carnegie on Saturday, has warned his side face a tough test.

Ojo told the Chronicle: “It’s the biggest game of the season to date. Not only the occasion of it being St Patrick’s Day, but Cornish Pirates are in form, they turned over Yorkshire and gave us a really tough game down at their place.

“It’s their first Paddy’s Day so we know they’re going to come up with a huge load of enthusiasm.

“They’re going to enjoy the occasion and they’re going to want to play rugby. They’ll really come at us and it will be a huge test. As we get to the end of the season every game becomes more and more important to build momentum, form and confidence.”

Assistant coach Clark Laidlaw backed up Ojo’s opinion, admitting last season’s 23-18 success against Gloucester was a rare highlight during his maiden campaign which ended in Aviva Premiership relegation.

He revealed: “It’s a massive day for the club. I’ve only been at one and that’s one of my memories of what was a tough year. It was one of the good days and we went and had a few pints out the back with the supporters. We’ll hopefully celebrate with a good win.”

He continued: “It will excite the team to have all those supporters here. Top teams thrive on pressure and the best players want to play in front of big crowds. We’ve seen this year in the bigger games we’ve played our best rugby.”

The St Patrick’s Day party features entertainment for all the family from 11am to 7pm, with the last day of the RBS 6 Nations being shown on big screens.

Tickets are on sale from 0118 968 1016 or www.lidirect.co.uk