London
Irish 23 v 33 Bath
“We
had to overcome a few challenges...it was a difficult game...”
said Toby Booth.
London Irish running out at the Madjeski Stadium |
This
mouth-watering fixture saw the start of London Irish's mini campaign
of two consecutive home fixtures at the Madjeski Stadium in front of
an 8,133 crowd. The game itself proved less than mouth-watering
though. Yes, Kyle Eastmond and Semesa Rokoduguni were starting for
Bath, having returned from England camp but this game was tough,
tougher than this West-Country side had probably expected, conceding
17 points alone in the second half but they won the tussle, 23-33. A
win's a win.
A
couple of months ago, questions would've been asked of Gavin Henson's
form and whether he was the right fly-half to start for Bath but over
the last couple of weeks, no one could fault this man's ability and
composure starting in George Ford's absence. And Bath knew that on a
wet and dismal Saturday afternoon, Henson would need to be on form,
especially with London Irish captain Shane Geraghty solid as a rock,
kicking 13 points of the home side’s 23.
When
Bath made their way into the London Irish 22', their driving maul
looked potent and with the home side coming in from the side, it was
only a matter of time before Irish's Halani Aulika was shown a yellow
card after 27 minutes. Henson bumped up the tally again with his
third penalty of the game, 3-9.
The
scrum resets became painful to watch and as Nathan Catt left the
field with a shoulder injury with six minutes to go of the first
half, I never doubted replacement Nick Auterac would cook up a storm.
London Irish failed to secure themselves in the scrum and when it
mattered most, a penalty try was awarded to Bath by referee Andrew
Small and with Henson converting, the visitors had finally found
form, 3-16.
But
a glimmer of hope from Geraghty saw his second successful penalty
kick; making it two from four, a couple of minutes from half time.
HT
6-16
Back
out and Bath were firing on all cylinders! Just over a minute into
the second half and Henry Thomas shrugged off defenders like water
off a duck’s back, to storm over the line and again, Henson added
the extras.
But
the desire of the London Irish pack was clear and they reacted. To
the excitement of the home crowd, as the drums pounded and bodies
pulsated, it was only a matter of time before a try was scored. It
was David Paice who made his mark and Geraghty complemented, to take
the score to 13-23.
It
was evident that the Exiles had changed their tactics and it just
shows what difference a team talk can make! Faster offloads, bags of
pace and a little fire in the belly and Irish were on the bounce.
Geraghty popped another penalty 12 minutes into the second half to
close the gap still further, leaving only seven points in it.
Were
Bath looking a little shaky?
Not
really. Henson kicked the West-country pack's fourth penalty and
then Chris Cook broke free from inside Bath's half to cross the line
with an outstanding (and extremely painful) forward roll to keep
London Irish at arms length with just over ten minutes left to play.
But
then came the sting in the tail.
Dominic
Day was shown a yellow card with eight minutes left to play, taking
Bath down to 14 men and a fantastic set piece ensued. London Irish
drew defenders, opening up a gap on the outside for James Short, who
touched down in the corner and Geraghty slotted another.
But
it just wasn't quite enough to win them the game. The intensity of
the first half wasn't a patch on the second though and wow, what a
game of two halves for London Irish. Their tenacity and resilience
was outstanding to watch and hats off to them, especially their
defence.
Director
of Rugby Brian Smith said after the game;
“We
did fight back because we had to ... there's plenty of time, we're
only a third of the way through the season, you've got to keep things
in perspective and turn this around.”
They're
growing and developing and could be 'the' team to watch out for....
Gloucester - be prepared!
FT
23-33