Head Coach Richard Hill has also named one change in his forward pack as John Andress comes in at tighthead prop for Euan Murray, who is named on the bench.

The Sixways side have been bolstered by the return to fitness of Chris Jones and Semisi Taulava, who are both named amongst the replacements.

The duo, who have been out of action since January, will add crucial firepower as Warriors search for their first win at the Madejski Stadium since 2005.

Hill said: "We've had a three-week break without a game so the major focus for us has been on how we get ourselves mentality and physically prepared for this game to ensure we hit the ground running.

"We desperately want to get our first away victory of the season. We'd love to do it against London Irish and there's no reason why we can't.

"We had a close run game at Harlequins in November and nearly did it down at Kingsholm last month but we have to go that one step further.

"London Irish play well at home. They've got some very talented runners and they throw the ball about. And if you don't tackle them properly they will cut you apart.

"But our preparation over the last two weeks has been good and I'm happy with the progress we're making."

Warriors vs. London Irish
15 Chris Pennell
14 Josh Drauniniu
13 Alex Grove
12 Jon Clarke
11 David Lemi
10 Andy Goode
9 Paul Hodgson

1 Matt Mullan
2 Ed Shervington
3 John Andress
4 James Percival (c)
5 Dean Schofield
6 Neil Best
7 Matt Kvesic
8 Blair Cowan

Replacements
16 Aleki Lutui
17 Ceri Jones
18 Euan Murray
19 Chris Jones
20 Semisi Taulava
21 Jonny Arr
22 Danny Gray
23 Josh Matavesi