It feels like kicking London Irish when they are down but after another defeat – by an Exeter side they could well have beaten with a little more direction – it is worth remembering that Andy Goode, currently working miracles with Newcastle, began the season with the Exiles, who are now cut adrift at the foot of the Premiership.
As it was, Goode retired on medical advice without making an appearance for London Irish, who, thanks in part to a lengthy injury list, handed the 18-year-old Theo Brophy Clews a first start at fly-half against the Chiefs. Despite some promising moments, though, it was his second-half blunder – kicking the ball into his captain, Luke Narraway – that led to Exeter’s pivotal try.
Goode, meanwhile, continues to spearhead Newcastle’s survival bid, having come out of retirement for the Falcons in December, and after their victory against Northampton on Sundayyesterday, coupled with Irish’s defeat, the Exiles are now five points behind second-bottom Worcester. How they could do with the veteran No10’s steadying influence.
Yet Tom Coventry can at least take heart that if the Exiles are to go down, they will do so swinging. Theirs was a performance high on endeavour if lacking in discipline, with David Paice and Ian Nagle sent to the sin-bin. They scored two tries, one a memorable length-of-the-field run from Topsy Ojo, and they led 7-6 at half-time before Dave Lewis darted over following Brophy Clews’ mistake and Gareth Steenson kicked the Chiefs to victory, finishing with 17 points.
Lewis’s try was not without controversy, however. Narraway was imploring the referee, Dean Richards, to check for obstruction with the TMO and Coventry was of a similar opinion. “I thought it was worth going upstairs. I don’t think there was anything to lose by doing that. I thought the TMO should have been involved in the decision in such an important game for us. It doesn’t take much, the technology is there, I’d just like them to be using it.
“We’ve got nine games to go and we need to be picking up points and we need to win some games away. I got asked [if we would stay up] on my very first day by the media at London Irish. We’re in that zone but we need to fight to get the points and we need to be tough enough to get through it.”
Fighting talk, but Coventry may well live to rue this particular defeat. The Chiefs, having lost their previous two matches, were edgy and Irish began with a well-taken try from Ofisa Treviranus after a burst through the middle from Ojo and some eye-catching buildup play from the 19-year-old inside-centre, Johnny Williams.
Steenson was on target with his first penalty on 20 minutes but if it was a foothold for the Chiefs it was not a solid one. Both sides proceeded to fluff try-scoring chances from rolling mauls and Steenson brought the Chiefs to within a point just before half-time, shortly after Paice was shown a yellow card following a collapsed Exeter maul. Brophy Clowes and Steenson traded penalties, then the former’s costly error led to a dash from Olly Woodburn before Lewis sniped for the Chiefs’ try.
The Exeter fly-half’s expert conversion was followed by another penalty for a nine-point lead when Nagle was sent to the bin for a blatant deliberate knock-on, before Irish rallied through Ojo’s opportune score. But by this stage the Chiefs were now dominant at the scrum and a further three points with five minutes to go from the unerring Steenson gave Exeter a seven-point cushion they never looked like relinquishing.
“At this time of year the most important quality is to find a way to win,” said Exeter’s head coach, Rob Baxter, whose side stay second, four points behind Saracens. “There’s no team in the Premiership falling over at the moment and it was massively important to get the win. Last year we lost late here and that may have cost us the top four but now that’s another win knocked off.”
London Irish Fenby; Ojo, Mulchrone, Williams, Hearn; Brophy Clews, Steele (Allinson, 64); Smallbone (Court, 54), Paice (Ellis, 69), Aulika (Halavatau, 54), Symons (Nagle, 25), Stooke, Treviranus (Trayfoot, 62), Narraway (capt), McCusker.
Tries Treviranus, Ojo. Cons Brophy Clews. Pens Brophy Clews. Sin-bin Paice 36, Nagle 60.
Exeter Chiefs Dollman; Woodburn, Whitten, S Hill (Campagnaro, 61), Short; Steenson, Chudley (Lewis, 48); Moon (Hepburn, 55), Yeandle (capt; Cowan-Dickie, 55), Low (Francis, 55), J Hill (Atkins, 61), Parling, Armand, Salvi, Waldrom (Horstmann, 72).
Tries Lewis. Cons Steenson. Pens Steenson 5.
Referee Dean Richards (RFU). Attendance 5,892.
