Dominant Irish pack paves way for Steele hat-trick
LONDON Irish’s impressive victory over Connacht was built on the back of a dominant forward display.
The visitors were utterly in control and made it five wins from five in the competition with scrum-half Sam Steele scoring a hattrick in the first-half. Ross Neal scored two tries, and Senitiki Nayalo and Todd Gleave also touched down for the rampant London Irish.
Irish boss Nick Kennedy said: “We had a lot of changes and the boys did very well. Our forwards were excellent - our scrum was very dominant.”
London Irish held a 29-7 lead at half-time after using their physical prowess to overwhelm the hosts and hammer home their advantage in the set-piece.
Steele had his hat-trick by the 18th minute and two further tries from Neal gave Irish a 29-0 lead before Ciaran Gaffney scored a consolation try for Connacht just before half-time.
The Exiles had four wins from four in this competition prior to Saturday’s game, and they already beat Connacht Eagles 34-3 when the sides met in October. Kennedy’s side also had a 100 per cent record in the English Championship coming into this game and this continued to pile on the pressure after half-time.
Replacement flanker Sean Masterson scored a try late on for the hosts, but Nayalo and Gleave had already pushed the margin further as London Irish soared clear at the top of Pool 3.