After so much gloom, it was fitting that the clouds above the Madejski Stadium should clear so that the London Irish faithful could salute the victory that hauled them off the bottom of the Aviva Premiership and into the sunny uplands of 11th place.
They may be only a point ahead of fellow basement battlers Newcastle, but the haunting prospect of defeat had been suitably dealt with. A loss would have seen London Irish consigned to a new year of eternal struggle and doubt as the relegation drums began to beat. Instead, they have backed up Boxing Day’s first win of the season, against Northampton, with another precious haul of points. But it took an act of supreme defiance in added time to deny Newcastle, flanker Luke Narraway winning the turnover in a tackle under the posts after a multiple-phase Falcons attack was finally stemmed. It was taut and it was tight but victory was priceless.
The tone of the London Irish spirit and defiance in those closing stages was set by well-travelled lock Matt Symons, whose work-rate and relentless commitment has caught the eye of new England head coach Eddie Jones as he ponders his first elite player squad. But the snap that came into the play of London Irish after a fractured first half was provided by fly-half Shane Geraghty, whose first kick from the restart yielded a try for wing Alex Lewington, who plucked it from the air to touch down.
Five minutes later, another well-placed Geraghty kick yielded a similar catch-and-score action from full-back Topsy Ojo. The 29-year-old, who won the last of England caps in 2009, also converted both tries in a decidedly impressive entrance to the game – even if it had been triggered by what appears to be an unfortunate injury to fellow fly-half Chris Noakes, who has a suspected dislocated shoulder.
That rip-roaring start to the second half, in which the Exiles stretched their 6-0 interval lead to 20 points, ought to have put the home side in a position of some security. Instead, as befits a team that has not managed to establish any sort of rhythm all season, the players fretted and frittered, allowing Newcastle to come within that last salvo of victory, and to gain a losing bonus point.
But London Irish at least held firm and after a two-week interlude in Europe, face a 10-game stretch in the Premiership that will define their fortunes. At the very least, London Irish, who underwent a significant overhaul of their operations last season, have given themselves a fighter’s chance. The quality of their play may have been suitably jittery and lacking in polish but in the situation they find themselves in, two wins in their last three Premiership outings represents a marked upturn.
“Even though the boys are holding their heads in the dressing room wondering how they didn’t manage the lead that they had, we all know how important the win is,” said head coach, Tom Coventry. “There is a lot of relief.
“It is a sign of where we are that we didn’t control the lead and ended up in a battle. There was a lot of squirming up in the coaches’ box but the boys did show good courage there in defending the goal line at the end. ”
They can be thankful, too, that Newcastle themselves were wasteful. The Falcons missed a gilt-edged opportunity in the first half when centre Chris Harris missed a touchdown as he dived for the ball over the try-line following a defensive fumble from Ojo.
There were other chances and it certainly appears (understandably so) as if they are missing the quality normally provided by a host of injured players such as Sinoti Sinoti, Mike Delany and Alex Tuilagi. They did have one accomplished former international to call on, fly-half, Andy Goode, who had originally announced his retirement from rugby after joining London Irish at the start of the season.
Goode, 35, is an old friend of Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards, and to judge by his present fuller-figure gait, looks as if he has been on a few good nights out with his mucker. Still, there was enough poise and savvy in Goode’s play to put his side in a position from where they were able to tilt for victory.
Nili Latu had got Falcons on the board with a 54th-minute try before Goode’s appearance, the fly-half adding a penalty and then landing a conversion from the touchline after Marcus Watson’s 67th-minute try.
Newcastle showed enough, though, to suggest that the relegation tussle will go the distance. There is much yet to play for.
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