London Irish recorded their first-ever league victory at Welford Road today to
boost their hopes of beating the drop and end Leicester's chances of reaching
the play-offs.
Playing in front of a sell-out 16,850 crowd, the Zurich Premiership's bottom
club thoroughly deserved their victory in a brave display capped by fly-half
Mark Mapletoft's 15-point haul.
For Leicester though, the defeat is the latest in what has been a dismal
season for the four-time reigning champions.
This was their ninth loss of the season and completed a double for the Exiles
following their 27-7 home win earlier in the campaign.
It also put the final nail in Leicester's slim hopes of reaching the
play-offs.
Leicester, facing their first season without silverware since 1998, began
their penultimate game of the campaign in fifth spot needing to make up a
seven-point deficit on the third-placed Sharks if they were to snatch a place in
the play-offs.
It took Leicester just three minutes to open the scoring, Craig McMullen's
defence-splitting pass giving Tim Stimpson the chance to race 30 meters
unchallenged before diving over.
But the England international missed his conversion and then saw a subsequent
drop-goal attempt float limply wide.
Mapletoft was not so profligate. He reduced the deficit with a penalty from
the halfway line before putting the visitors ahead 6-5 with a much simpler
effort from in front of the posts.
The former Gloucester man added two further penalties before the end of the
half to give Irish a healthy cushion heading into the break.
Leicester looked to have clawed their way back into the match on the stroke of
half-time when John Holtby raced over in the left corner for his first-ever
Leicester try.
But Stimpson was again unable to add the conversion from out on the touchline
and Irish took advantaged to fashion a superb try.
Winger Paul Sackey made good ground down the right before being denied by some
stout Leicester defence. However the home side had over-committed and when the
ball found its way back out, the visitors had an overlap on the other side of
the pitch which prop Mike Worsley took advantage of to dive over.
Mapletoft was narrowly wide with his kick before, three minutes into
injury-time, Geordan Murphy fired home a brilliant long-distance drop goal to
pull Leicester back to within four points with the final kick of the half.
Stimpson found his range at the start of the second half to put Leicester back
in the lead with two penalties.
The Exiles were not about to roll over though and yet another penalty by the
impressive Mapletoft put them ahead 20-19 heading into the final minutes.
With the rain starting to pour down, Leicester began to look weary and the
more likely scorers looked to be the visiting side.
The final 10 minutes were almost exclusively spent in the Leicester half and,
despite the best efforts of the vocal home crowd, the Tigers were unable to grab
the all-important score.
Teams
Leicester: Stimpson, Raynor, Lloyd, Tuilagi, Booth, Holtby,
Ellis, Freshwater, Chuter, Garforth, M. Johnson, Deacon, Corry,
Skinner, Balding.
Replacements: J. Hamilton, Gelderbloom, Murphy, Kay, Vesty, Smith,
McMullen.
Tries: Stimpson, Holtby.
Pens: Stimpson 2.
Drop Goals: Murphy.
London Irish: Horak, Sackey, Appleford, Hoadley, Barrett,
Mapletoft, Martens, Worsley, Drotske, Hardwick, Strudwick,
Casey, Danaher, Dawson, Sheasby.
Replacements: Brennan, Everitt, Kennedy, Flavin, Roche, Hatley,
Halford.
Tries: Worsley.
Pens: Mapletoft 5.
Att: 16,850
Ref: Dave Pearson (England).
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