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London Irish assistant coach Glenn Delaney insists they are not going to underestimate Amlin Challenge newcomers Lusitanos. - 17/10/2013 15:10
London Irish assistant coach Glenn Delaney insists they are not going to underestimate Amlin Challenge newcomers Lusitanos.
Irish scored nine tries in their demolition of Italian side Cavalieri Prato last weekend and are brimming with confidence for their trip to Portugal on Saturday.
“We’ve put down a marker and we want to keep that going,” said Delaney.
“We’ve had some good information from some contacts we have in Portugal who have been doing a bit of homework on them for us.
“They are a new team in the competition but we are going to give them the respect they deserve.
“It’s a good chance for us to get away and work hard on our fundamentals ahead of our game against Newcastle.
“We will go about our work in the same professional way that we have done for every game this season.”
Irish are expected to make several changes from the win over Prato and Delaney says there is a healthy strength to their squad.
“This team is based on merit and if people are performing well they are going to get a chance to play rugby,” added Delaney.
“There is plenty of competition in the squad and people are scrapping for places.”
Lusitanos lost their opening Amlin fixture 61-3 against Stade Francais in Paris.
They are making their debut in the competition and it’s the first time a side from Portugal has played in Europe since Coimbra’s involvement in 2005.
Match facts
London Irish have lost just one of their last 10 away games in this competition (W9), a 47-3 defeat at the hands of domestic rivals Gloucester Rugby.
This will be the first ever clash between a Portuguese side and an English club in ERC history.
Only once in nine games have Portuguese sides failed to score a point in this competition – on average they score nine points per game.
Overall, London Irish have a 61% win rate on the road in the Amlin Challenge Cup, compared to a 77% win rate at home.
London Irish have plundered 18 tries and 127 points in their opening two outings in Pool 5 to date and sit proudly on top of the table and ready for bigger challenges ahead. - 19/10/2013 21:01
London Irish have plundered 18 tries and 127 points in their opening two outings in Pool 5 to date and sit proudly on top of the table and ready for bigger challenges ahead.
Things are likely to get tougher with back-to-back games against last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup runners up Stade Francais Paris to come in December, but they will go into those contests in good shape in the competition with maximum points
The hosts, playing in the national rugby stadium in Lisbon, got off to the worst possible start when tight head prop Jorge Segurado was sent to the sin bin after just three minutes. Irish capitalised with a penalty from Myles Dorrian to take the lead, only to be pinned back almost instantly when Pedro Cabral slotted over a penalty of his own.
The hosts managed to keep it tight with their 14 men but the visitors retook the lead with another Dorrian penalty before Sailosi Tagicakibau ran in a try on 22 minutes, which Dorrian converted.
Pedro Cabral got his side back within touching distance six minutes before half time to make it 6-13 but then another yellow card saw Rui D’Orey depart the field and the Exiles capitalised. Blair Cowen ran in his side’s second try of the day and Darren Allinson converted to make it 6-20 at half time.
With D’Orey still in the bin at the start of the second period the visitors were able to add a third try through Marland Yarde and Dorrian added the extras. Two minutes after scoring Yarde was shown a yellow card just as Lusitanos returned to full strength.
Within five minutes it was back to 14 a side when João Correia was sent to the bin and Jimmy Stevens ran in two tries in the space of six minutes, both converted by Dorrian. Irish were now on their way to a bonus point win and wing Alex Lewington added another try followed four minutes later by a sixth try from Ofisa Treviranus. Again Dorrian was flawless in adding the extra points.
Marland Yarde grabbed his second try of the day with 14 minutes left to play, with Dorrian missing his only kick of the day, before Allinson put the icing on the cake with the eighth try with Dorrian kicking the final points of the afternoon.
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