LONDON Irish have been dealt a blow ahead of their St Patrick's Day game with the news that talented centre Jonathan Joseph has signed for Bath.

The former Newbury Blue will link up with former Irish coach Toby Booth for the start of the 2013/14 season and is the second England international, after Alex Corbisiero, to announce his departure from the Madejski this summer.

Joseph said: "I've loved my time with London Irish, but feel it's time to make a move and Bath is an extremely exciting prospect. You can see what the coaches are looking to build there in terms of culture, they already have a really talented squad and I hope I can add something to that.

"Obviously I'm still developing as a player and I feel that Bath will give me a fantastic environment in which to do that."

Joseph has missed the last four games with injury but could be in contention for the visit of Worcester Warriors this Saturday (3pm ko).