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London Irish travel to Stade Guy Boniface to face Mont de Marsan in Round 5 knowing that quarter-final qualification as Pool 1 winners is Gloucester's prize to lose. - 08/01/2013 18:29
London Irish travel to Stade Guy Boniface to face Mont de Marsan in Round 5 knowing that quarter-final qualification as Pool 1 winners is Gloucester’s prize to lose.
The back-to-back defeats by their Premiership rivals have left the Exiles seven points adrift and relying on others – Bordeaux-Begles in particular – to stop the chase for group honours ending with a round of matches to go.
London Irish did run riot in their 69-26 win over Mont de Marsan at the Madejski Stadium in Round 2, with wing Topsy Ojo crossing for two of their 11 tries, but the damage to their last eight hopes was done in last month’s contests with Gloucester.
The Exiles, who went within touching distance of the trophy when they were pipped 36-34 by Gloucester in extra time of the final at the Twickenham Stoop also face a battle to hand onto some of their leading players.
Brian Smith has admitted that the club will struggle to hold onto Alex Corbisiero and Jonathan Joseph for next season.
Both England internationals are products of the Exiles academy, but with limited resources compared to their league rivals and currently in the midst of a relegation battle, the signs do not look promising.
Match Facts
- London Irish ran up 69 points in the reverse fixture earlier this season, the most Mont-de-Marsan have ever conceded in Europe.
- Mont-de-Marsan defeated French league rivals Bordeaux-Begles in rounds three and four, the consecutive victories coming on the back of 11 straight defeats in this tournament.
- Mont-de-Marsan’s Thibault Duvallet is one of three players to have a 100% goal-kicking success rate having attempted five or more shots at goal (6/6).
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London Irish’s Anthony Watson is the tournament’s top metre-maker. He has made 334 metres from 23 carries.
Pour sa dernière rencontre européenne de la saison
London Irish kept their slim hopes of quarter-final qualification in the Amlin Challenge Cup alive with a 20-14 win at Mont de Marsan.
The Exiles bounced back from successive defeats to pool leaders Gloucester last month with a third victory in five games this term thanks to a brace of tries from Jack Winter-Moates.
The scrum-half crossed once in either half at the Stade Guy Boniface, with his first coming with the game 26 minutes old and his second following six minutes after the break.
The latter score pushed Irish 17 points in front after Steven Shingler had slotted his second conversion to go with a 13th-minute penalty as the visitors took control on French soil.
Mont de Marsan kept the encounter interesting with a converted try from centre Simon Lucu after 54 minutes but Shingler looked to have put the result beyond doubt when he struck a second penalty 17 minutes later.
Lucu’s second try made for a thrilling ending, though, as he crossed again with six minutes still left to play. Jean Baptiste Claverie’s conversion brought the hosts to within a single score but Irish held firm to head home with another morale-boosting success following last weekend’s shock Aviva Premiership win at Kingsholm.
The result still leaves Irish three points behind Gloucester in Pool 1, with the Cherry and Whites knowing victory at bottom side Bordeaux-Begles tomorrow night will guarantee a place in the last eight and knock their English rivals out in the process.
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