So grim has been London Welsh’s season that a relatively narrow defeat on a cold, wet and miserable bank holiday almost rates as a high spot. For a cruel, illusory moment there was even the whiff of a potential upset before normal service was resumed and Irish eased to a victory that leaves their opponents stranded at the bottom of the Premiership table at the campaign’s halfway stage.
Welsh are now 13 points adrift having picked up just one point from a possible 55 in their 11 matches. To make matters worse they also had their captain, Tom May, shown the red card in the 34th minute for the currently fashionable offence of elbowing an opponent in the face. The victim, the Samoan back-rower Dan Leo, also received his marching orders for a retaliatory forearm smash in a Boxing Day contest that lived up to its pugilistic title.
The 35-year-old May, who has had a previously good disciplinary record during his lengthy career, was described as distraught after the incident by his head coach, Justin Burnell, while Leo also felt distinctly aggrieved. Irish have indicated they will strongly defend their player when the disciplinary case is convened, with their director of rugby, Brian Smith, saying he thought Leo may have been hard done by.
The catalyst for the incident was May being held back at the side of a maul, with some sources suggesting the part of his body allegedly being gripped may have been a particularly sensitive one. The centre certainly reacted strongly, throwing his right arm backwards sharply and hitting Leo, who had barely been on the field five minutes as a replacement.
The Samoa international, who was shown the red card 18 months ago for a striking offence while playing for Perpignan against Toulouse in a European Challenge Cup quarter-final, responded with a retaliatory dig on the ground, which briefly provoked a wider melee. The referee, Greg Garner, watched even more reruns than the average Christmas sofa occupant before brandishing two red cards but both coaches felt the precedent of the recent Dylan Hartley case, in which Northampton’s England hooker was banned for an elbow to the face of Leicester’s Matt Smith, had influenced the decision.
“The referee’s decision is final and we’re not going to change it but Tom’s just distraught,” said Burnell. “It’s not in his nature and he felt he’s let the team down.”
Smith also suggested Leo had been unlucky. “The use of cards should be proportional and I’d question whether that was the case today,” said Smith. “Dan Leo is a quality person and he’s not a thug. He’s very, very upset and justifiably so. He’s got our full support and I’m sure we’ll hear more about it during the week. The Dylan Hartley incident has clearly shone a light on an area of the game which has become fashionable.”
Even with a reshuffled Irish pack, however, Welsh could not take advantage, the home side’s industrious tight forwards taking increasing control. Irish scored three tries through Alex Lewington, Geoff Cross and Tom Court, although Welsh, only 10-6 down at the break, performed appreciably better than they did in losing 78-7 to Saracens the previous week. “Last week we were absolutely annihilated … at least today there was a contest,” said Burnell.
In fairness to both sides, conditions were never going to make for a classic. Welsh have struggled in all weathers this season but the chill rain sweeping across the Thames Valley made this an extreme test of character for all, spectators included. , clad in green like Christmas trees without any lights, have been enduring a lean spell themselves with just one win in their previous eight games in all competitions, but the clever Shane Geraghty continues to give them a spark of something refreshingly different.
It was Geraghty’s kick that prefaced Lewington’s try and the former England international almost created another chip-and-gather try for Topsy Ojo, only for the winger to be adjudged fractionally offside. Otherwise it was a day for connoisseurs of forward driving, disciplinary arguments and continuing Welsh despondency. Will Robinson is a decent goal-kicker and the No8 Opeti Fonua is a big unit but their cause now looks a hopeless one.
London Irish Homer; Ojo, Mulchrone, Geraghty, Lewington; Noakes (Gilsenan, ht), Steele (O’Leary, 65); Court (Halavatau, 79), Paice, Cross (Aulika, 59), Skivington (capt), Rouse, Low (Leo, 29), Cowan, Sinclair (Sheridan, 79).
Tries Lewington, Cross, Court. Cons Homer 3. Pen Homer.
Red card Leo 34.
London Welsh Robinson; Kear, May (capt), Jewell (Tincknell, 70), Scott; Weepu (Stegmann, 62), Lewis; Trevett (Reeves, 52), Vella (Morris, 68), Vea, Down, Schofield (Pienaar,66) , McCaffrey (Browne, 52), Kirwan, Fonua.
Pens Robinson 3. Red card May 34.
Referee G Garner (RFU). Att 7,097.
