Edinburgh gets the better of London Irish in first round of Heineken Cup - Rugby News
Edinburgh produced an unbelievable performance of 20-19 to topple the London Irish on November 12, at Reading, in the first round of the Heineken Cup 2011-12.
Edinburgh was trailing by 16-10 at the end of the first half and even slumped into a further state of helplessness after the break as the rivals raised their lead to 19-10. Tom Homer the full-back for London Irish gave a tough time to Edinburgh as he scored
14 individual points for his team.
The spirited London Irish side got an ideal start in the match as their repeated attacks forced Edinburgh onto the back foot. Edinburgh committed a couple of penalties on scrum and tackles and provided the opposition with easy opportunities which they cashed.
Homer kicked twice for his team and gave London Irish the psychological advantage of an early lead with 6-0. However, they could not resist for a longer period as Lee Jones danced through their mighty defence. The follow up try from fly-half Harry Leonard
put Edinburgh ahead of Irish side with 7-6.
The equation was once again disturbed by Tom Homer with another penalty goal in the 23rd minute. From here onward London Irish team looked too strong for Edinburgh. They expanded their lead to 19-10 just five minutes after the resumption of play.
They made more extensive efforts to enhance the lead but were denied.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh picked up their game with a much needed try from Stuart McInally in the 59th minute. Greig Laidlaw converted the opportunity with great ease and narrowed down the difference to 19-17. The most important shot and turning point
of the match was seen in the 68th minute as Greig Laidlaw shined for his team with decisive three pointer and sealed the hard fought victory for Edinburgh.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Steven Shingler, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Dan Bowden (capt), 9 Ross Samson, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Bryn Evans, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Paulica
Ion, 2 James Buckland, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Faan Rautenbach, 19 James Sandford, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Joe Ansbro, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Paul Hodgson.
Edinburgh: 15 Jim Thompson, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 David Denton, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Esteban Lozada, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford (c),
1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Steven Lawrie, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Lewis Niven, 19 Sean Cox, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 James King, 23 Tom Brown.
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