Irish defy the rain to hand brave Hartpury five-try defeat

IRISH got their Cup campaign off to a winning start with a five-try display despite the wet conditions at Hartpury. However, the final score was slightly harsh on a Hartpury team who fought hard throughout.

Irish coach Les Kiss said: “We used our forwards well at times and when we had the ball in the 22 we were clinical.

“Some inaccurate kicking gave them field position, but we were able to defend well.”

Both sides struggled in the first half due to the conditions, but Irish were quick to get ahead.

With Connor Edwards of Hartpury in the sin-bin early for a late tackle, a driven try, through Saia Fainga’a, got the scoreboard moving.

Early in the second quarter, Hartpury were rewarded for their positive approach and got back on terms when a long kick from Sam Leeming produced a foot-race between Hartpury’s Harry Cochrane and wing Napolioni Nalaga.

Cochrane was quicker and an additional touch gave him the chance to finish under the posts. Leeming converted for 7-7.

With play going from end to end, despite the weather, Irish were able to nudge ahead just after the half hour. The try was a copy of their first, with another lineout drive resulting in a second score for Fainga’a, Stephen Myler again adding the extras.

As half-time approached, Exiles scrum-half Brendan McKibbin highlighted his strong overall performance when he nipped through to give Hartpury a mountain to climb after the break, at 21-7 down.

The third quarter of the match saw Hartpury take the play to the Irish, but without reward, as the visitors won turnovers at critical times.

On 59 minutes, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi tied up the bonus point for Irish. Again Hartpury responded positively, but good defence saw the visitors’ line stay intact.

Irish centre Tom Fowlie scored the final try, from another attacking lineout.

Hartpury coach Johnny Goodridge said: “It felt a lot closer than the score. We defended well and put into practice what we had done in training, making some good chop tackles and forcing errors.

“Our attack was less impressive, but we suffered with the conditions.”