Irish left with too much to do after thebreak

HENLEY survived a ferocious second-half fight-back to claim all five points in a thrilling encounter at London Irish.

The Hawks started brightly and converted the pressure into points when Marcus Lowe went over untouched in the corner following a powerful driving maul.

The driving maul worked well all afternoon for Henley, and it brought them a second try when Lowe barrelled over from short range for his double inside 25 minutes.

Irish were forced to defend bravely for large periods of the first half, but their resistance crumbled on the stroke of half-time when Simon Perry scored. The conversion was added for a 19-0 lead at the break.

Wild Geese hit back after half-time as Peter Hodgkinson’s clever kick allowed George Owen to show off his speed and dot down.

Another smart kick ten minutes later, this time from Daniel Grant-Adamson, set up Reon Joseph to outpace the cover defence and score, bringing the Irish back into the game.

Henley got the cushion they needed on the 65minute mark when another strong driving maul allowed Tom Emery to get over the line and extend the lead to 24-10.

A late score for the impressive Hodgkinson, converted by Alexander Seers, gave Irish hope, but Henley held out for a deserved victory, their third on the bounce.