Captain Josh makes Pirates walk the plank
London Irish 38 Cornish Pirates 29
CAPTAIN Josh McNally praised the character of his team-mates to hold off a strong Cornish Pirates fightback to go top of the Championship table.
London Irish looked set to cruise to an eighth straight win when they led 33-8 five minutes into the second half thanks to tries from Teofilo Paulo, debutant Ollie Hassell-Collins, captain McNally, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and Brendan McKibbin.
But quick-fire yellow cards for
Bryce Campbell and Blair Cowan saw the momentum swing the way of the visitors, although the Exiles did well to preserve a healthy lead despite being two men short.
Pirates eventually battled all the way back to 33-29 before McNally bagged his second try of the afternoon to clinch the win in the final minute.
“We sensed the pressure,” McNally told The Wokingham Paper.
“Sometimes these purple patches happen. They really got on top of us, we wanted to try and get dominance back in the game and obviously strayed across the line a little bit but we got back on the horse straightaway.
“Our identity really showed this week. “It was about grit and determination and not letting that game get away from us.
“I think eight weeks ago that game could’ve got away from us and we’re just showing that each week we’re building that energy and building that performance so that when we come up against these tough things we can really turn that dominance back on ourselves and get the wins.”
Topsy Ojo led the side out with his children for his record-breaking 291st appearance for the club and he came agonisingly close to making a dream start.
The winger was stopped just three metres short of the try line in the opening minutes, but Irish were soon in front when McNally found a gap following a line-out.
But the visitors responded well, getting their noses in front as Robin Wedlake went over in the corner.
However, Irish retook the lead midway through the half when an excellent break from Brendan Macken eventually led to a penalty, which the hosts opted to kick to the corner.
And in traditional style, the powerful pack forced their way across the line with Paulo claiming the try.
Pirates, who arrived sitting in fourth place in the table, were putting up a fight but paid for a big missed chance as Declan Kidney’s men restored a cushion when Hassell-Collins collected from Macken and went over in the corner to round off a brilliant team move.
There was time for the bonus point try to be secured before the break through another line-out drive with Hobbs-Awoyemi flopping over and Ben Meehan’s impressive conversion took the half-time lead to 26-8.
And that advantage extended soon after the restart when McKibbin found a gap to break through the centre and reach over the line for a brilliant score despite pressure from a man in purple.
Winger Kyle Moyle responded by crossing in the corner and Pirates were given further hope when Campbell was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle.
The reinvigorated visitors quickly made the extra man count, earning a penalty try after an infringement by Cowan, which also saw the flanker sent to the bin.
Irish were under pressure but they looked to have seen out the spell with 13 men until one last attack. With Campbell and Cowan on the sidelines waiting to return, Pirates broke down the right and despite two big challenges from HassellCollins, they kept the ball alive with Moyle crossing again.
With 10 minutes to play the lead stood at just four points but the hosts regrouped when restored to 15 men and eventually saw the win over the line when McNally crossed for his second try of the afternoon.
The Exiles go top of the Championship, three points clear of Ealing Trailfinders with a game in hand to come at Jersey on Saturday (2pm).
LONDON IRISH: McLean, Ojo, Macken (Hearn 76), Campbell, Hassell-Collins, Meehan, McKibbin (Myler 74), Hobbs-Awoyemi (Cilliers 50), Matu’u (Porecki 65), Hoskins, McNally (c), Paulo (Maddison 74), Schatz (Gilsenan 58), Cowan, Rogerson. Rep not used: Saulo.
Tries: McNally x2 (5,80), Paulo (18), Hassell-Collins (26), Hobbs-Awoyemi (33), McKibbin (45) Cons: Meehan x2 (5,26,33,45) Yellow cards: Campbell (57), Cowan (58)
CORNISH PIRATES: Moyle, Wedlake, Koster (O’Meara 70), Patterson (Rojas Alvarez 65), Strong, Cargill, Day, Andrew (Walker 48), Cowan-Dickie (Matavesi 55), Owlett (Gendall 64), Freeman, Beukeboom (c), McRae (Schwartz 74), Bolwell, Duncan. Rep not used: Cutmore.
Tries: Wedlake (12), Moyle x2 (49,72), Penalty (58) Cons: Cargill x2 (49,72) Pen: Cargill (9) Yellow card: Beukeboom (79) Referee: Ian Tempest Attendance: 3,406 Scoring sequence (Irish first): 5-0, 7-0, 7-3, 7-8, 12-8, 17-8, 19-8, 24-8, 26-8, 31-8, 33-8, 33-13, 33-15, 33-22, 33-27, 33-29, 38-29.