Leicester cruised into the semi-finals of the Zurich Premiership Championship
and kept their hopes of a trophy Treble alive with a comfortable win over London
Irish.
Tim Stimpson, rejected by the British Lions but a crucial component of Tigers'
Premiership-winning side, kicked four penalties and a conversion, while wingers
Winston Stanley and Austin Healey helped themselves to tries.
London Irish, who scraped into the play-offs after finishing eighth in the
Premiership, were always going to find it hard against the Heineken Cup
finalists and struggled to get hold of the ball against a dominant home pack.
The opening exchanges were littered with basic errors from both sides and it
was left to the ever-reliable boot of Stimpson to bring some stability to the
proceedings - his two early penalties giving Tigers a deserved lead.
Irish hit back with a penalty from fly-half Barry Everitt after a rare
excursion into the Tigers half, but it was the home side who held the lion's
share of possession.
Aussie centre Pat Howard provided the first bit of magic in the game, jinking
past his opposite number in the centre to create a huge gap for Andy Goode, but
the England Under-21 fly-half failed to keep hold of the ball, with a clear but
lengthy run to the line ahead of him.
The first try came after 24 minutes from a fumble by Adam Balding at the back
of a Leicester scrum.
Tigers scrum-half Jamie Hamilton tidied up the mess and the ball zipped along
the Tigers back-line to Stanley on halfway and the Canadian winger then showed
great pace to leave three Irish tacklers in his wake to score under the posts.
Stimpson and Everitt then swapped penalties as Tigers went into the break with
a 19-6 lead.
Irish desperately needed an aggressive opening after the break but again it
was Leicester, with Lions skipper Martin Johnson to the fore, who dominated both
territory and possession.
Tigers stamped their authority on the game with a sparkling try by Healey
after 63 minutes. The diminutive winger squeezed over the line in the right hand
corner after a flowing move that involved a succession of sharp passes involving
the forwards and backs.
Irish were unlucky not to score soon after when Paul Sackey outstripped
Stanley to reach the ball first after a long kick from Everitt, but the winger
was adjudged to have knocked on by the touch judge.
Irish did eventually cross the line when former Tiger Nnamdi Ezulike crossed
in the final minute after taking advantage of a scattered Leicester defence, but
they were well beaten by England's premier side, who now face arch-rivals
Northampton in the next round.
Leicester:
Tries: Stanley, Healey.
Cons: Stimpson.
Pens: Stimpson 3, Stanley.
Team: Murphy, Stimpson, Lloyd, Howard, Stanley, Goode,
Hamilton, Freshwater, Chuter, Nebbett, M. Johnson, Corry,
Gustard, Moody, Balding.
Not Used: Healey, Smith, W. Johnson, Kay, Garforth, Cockerill, Rowntree.
London Irish:
Tries: Ezulike.
Pens: Everitt 2.
Team: Bishop, Sackey, Appleford,
Hoadley, Ezulike, Everitt, Campbell, Hatley, Kirke, Halford, Strudwick, Delaney,
Halvey, Dawson, Danaher.
Not Used: Ashforth, Brennan, Flavin, Bates, Sheasby, Worsley,Fahrensohn.
Att: 8,112
Ref: Tony Spreadbury (RFU).
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