London Irish take eye off the ball

Heineken Cup Pool Six/Scarlets 31 London Irish 22:ROB McCUSKER, who has served a six-year apprenticeship with the Scarlets since arriving as a teenager from Mold, turned London Irish's Heineken Cup prospects into mouldy old dough with two tries in seven second-half minutes.

What had appeared to be a routine victory for the Exiles disintegrated into a defeat that left them without even the consolation of a bonus point.

If it did not quite make Saturday evening’s match at Twickenham against the group leaders, Leinster, a funeral march, rather than the triumphal procession Irish had been anticipating, they need to win to make the quarter-finals as one of the best two runners-up and to do so with a bonus point if they are to finish top of the group.

Given the ruthlessness with which the holders twice took apart the Scarlets last month and the transfer of the match to neutral territory, Irish have it all to do.

It looked so different after 64 minutes yesterday. They were 22-10 ahead and looking so comfortable that they spurned a kickable penalty to opt for a lineout, with one try needed for a bonus point.

But their lead masked what had been a slipshod display, with half-a-dozen try-scoring opportunities thrown away.

Irish had no one to act as cement, and it took only a few shoves for their wall to fall apart. A team that was missing seven internationals, including three Lions, and had more of a creche than a bench recorded an unlikely double against a team regarded as one of the most resourceful in the English Premiership.

Irish had lost only two away matches all season while the Scarlets had not won at home for two months.

Tom Homer gave Irish the lead with a ludicrously simple try after five minutes, and even though the Scarlets hit back with a try from Jonathan Davies after Andy Fenby exposed Irish’s lack of pace on the wing, the Exiles generally controlled possession and territory without showing much in the way of assurance.

They led 15-10 at half-time, David Paice scoring their second try after Chris Hala’Ufia had cleared a path to the line and Ryan Lamb landing a penalty while Rhys Priestland missed three for the home side, a number that increased to four on the hour.

Yet Irish made no impact when Lou Reed spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for a professional foul and they needed an interval talking-to from their head coach, Toby Booth, before they could make a gear change.

They should have scored three tries in the first 10 minutes of the second half but they kept making unforced errors.

When the third try did come, it was fortuitous: Peter Hewat’s speculative kick was missed by Josh Turnbull and as Priestland dithered, Hala’Ufia gathered to run 35 yards and score.

With no experience on the bench, the Scarlets looked like roadkill but suddenly they were the ones holding the steering wheel.

Lamb’s game unravelled and a poor kick by the outhalf saw McCusker receive the ball 40 yards out. The flanker accelerated past Richard Thorpe on his way to the line.

Seven minutes later, the 24-year-old gave his side the lead, after Delon Armitage’s weak chip meant Irish forfeited possession in their own half, when he took a slip pass from the prop Deacon Manu to cross in the corner.

Priestland struggled to kick penalties but he had no problems with conversions. Two points down, Irish never looked like regaining the momentum.

They were pinned back in their own half and forced to move the ball from unlikely positions and Davies scored his second try of the match, having the presence of mind to touch down under the posts.

The Scarlets have a chance of finishing second in the group if they win in Brive on Saturday.

“The way we play comes with a price and when we were winning the scoreline flattered us,” said Booth.

“We face an uphill challenge against Leinster but we respond to those.”

“I think Irish perhaps had one eye on their showdown with Leinster,” McCusker said.

SCARLETS: Evans, Stoddart, Lamont, J. Davies, Fenby, Priestlend, Roberts, I. Thomas, Owen, Manu, Reed, Day, McCusker, Turnbull, Lyons. Replacements: John for I. Thomas (60 mins), Welch for Day (60 mins), Edwards for Turnbull (60 mins). Sin Bin: Reed (28 mins).

LONDON IRISH: D. Armitage, Hewat, Seveali’i, Mapusua, Homer, Lamb, Hodgson, Dermody, Paice, Rautenbach, Kennedy, Casey, Thorpe, S. Armitage, Hala’ufia. Replacements: Rudd for Seveali’i (52 mins), Malone for Lamb (66 mins), Richards for Hodgson (66 mins), Murphy for Dermody (78 mins), Ion for Rautenbach (52 mins), Johnson for Casey (74 mins), Roche for Thorpe (73 mins).

Referee: Jerome Garces (France).