Tigers maul ailing Irish
London Irish's slump continued as they crashed to a 23-14 home defeat by Leicester in the Aviva Premiership.
Last Updated: 04/12/10 4:57pm
London Irish's slump continued as they crashed to a 23-14 home defeat by Leicester in the Aviva Premiership.
Irish had not won any of their four matches in November in all competitions and that run continued as the Tigers established an early dominance and never really gave the hosts a sniff of getting back into the match.
Irish fly-half Ryan Lamb had a torrid opening period. He was put under almost constant pressure by the Leicester back row, as Irish looked hesitant when they had decent possession.
And when Irish gave away penalties, Tigers' fly-half Billy Twelvetrees was in good form. The youngster booted Leicester into a 9-0 lead with three penalties, one from the halfway line.
The only try-scoring opportunity of the half came just after the half-hour when Leicester hooker George Chuter fired an attacking line-out ball over the top for flanker Thomas Waldrom to grab and charge 22 metres to the line.
However, Waldron was called back for a crooked throw and Irish escaped.
Somehow, with the home pack struggling to keep the opposition at bay, Irish went into the break just 9-3 down as Lamb held his nerve with the final chance of the half to fire over a penalty from almost 50 metres.
Irish improved after the break, with Lamb quickly finding his confidence again as he placed two decent touch-finders right into the Leicester danger zone.
And the ex-Gloucester number 10 was the creator of Irish's first try of the match.
It was a well-crafted move which saw number eight Chris Hala'ufia charge up the middle before he was dragged down. Scrum-half Paul Hodgson fed Lamb who chipped over the visiting defence for wing Topsy Ojo, who beat Scott Hamilton on the line.
Platform
The comeback did not last long, however. Leicester upped the pace, attacking the home pack again in the loose and providing the platform for captain Geordan Murphy to give Waldrom another chance to score which, this time, he accepted.
Twelvetrees' conversion gave Leicester an eight-point buffer but, after another attack from Irish, this time an 11-phase move, the Tigers infringed under their posts, giving Lamb the easiest of penalty shots to reduce the margin.
Irish attacked again as the last 10 minutes approached and were rewarded when number eight Jordan Crane was deemed offside, allowing Lamb to bisect the posts with his third penalty.
But the result was put beyond doubt with two minutes to go when the Irish scrum was put under extreme pressure on their own line.
Three times the Leicester pack forced their opponents backwards. Referee David Pearson eventually lost patience and awarded the penalty try, with the conversion taking Irish out of bonus point range.
The Exiles are fading fast, but the champions are now up to second as they step up their pursuit of leaders Northampton.
