Rugby Union: Quinnells' power rumbles Irish spirit

London Irish 14

Richmond 45

LONDON Irish's chances of survival in the Allied Dunbar Premiership looked a bleak and futile hope after the thrashing they suffered at the hands of that other side of exiles, Richmond.

For three brief, glorious minutes at the start of the game the First Division's bottom club were in the faces of their visitors, who had started the match with just a handful of English-qualified players, and were rewarded for that passionate dalliance with superiority in the opposition half with a penalty, the first of Niall Woods' three successes.

But thereafter the ball was generally in the Richmond court, so to speak. Despite the racket made by the home fans, Irish more often than not found themselves on the back foot unable to cope with the charge of the Richmond heavy brigade.

The Richmond pack at times behaved like an avalanche of bruising boulders rumbling across a lawn. Only stout-hearted defence and Woods' boot (and ultimately his pacy try in the closing stages) kept the Exiles in sight at least of their opponents.

Irish are never found wanting in spirit - their gutsy fightback at the start of the second half, when they repeatedly threatened a breakaway score only to be pulled back for an infringement, bore witness to that - but when it came to matching Richmond for the power of the Quinnell brothers, Scott and Craig, the guile of Allan Bateman in midfield or the pace of the wing Dominic Chapman, they fell short of the necessary.

If the Richmond pack was a battering ram with the captain, Ben Clarke, and the Argentine Rolando Martin especially dangerous in the loose, then the backs were like sabres, slicing through with imagination and breathtaking speed. Chapman, their lightning-fast left-wing scored two more tries and his reputation as a lethal finisher is growing. With his slight frame he may not be able to provide an impassable obstacle to opposing backs, but when he is given a glint of light he is through any gap.

His first try came courtesy of a marvellous piece of handling by Jim Fallon, who scooped up the ball from the turf after having to check his run to gather the ball on the bounce, and then sent Chapman whizzing away. Chapman's second saw Bateman giving him the scoring pass on the hour, by which time the match was all over as a contest, although Woods' try stirred things up in the Irish camp.

The try of the match though was Bateman's. It came midway through the first half when those burly brothers, the Quinnells, rumbled like tanks over the border and upfield to the right. The ball was recycled left and Bateman, running a stunning angle, cut the defence to ribbons as he ran on to a perfect pass from Adrian Davies to cross unopposed.

Martin combined well with Scott Quinnell shortly before the interval, the Argentinian making a fine break before sending over the Welshman. That was that really. Apart from Woods' rude interruption of the Richmond procession in the 74th minute it was one-way traffic.

The scrum-half, Andy Moore, and the replacement full-back, Earl Va'a, got in on the scoring act and Davies managed to find the target finally and converted those two late tries. Richmond, probably out of the title chase, but most definitely in the hunt for a place in Europe (should the clubs sort out their differences with the Heineken Cup organisers) may well be grateful for this 31-point margin if the Premiership fails to separate the clutch of clubs trailing in the wake of Newcastle and Saracens.

London Irish: C O'Shea (capt); J Bishop, S Burns, M McCall, N Woods; D Humphreys, N Hogan; L Mooney (J Fitzpatrick, 40), R Kellam, G Halpin, G Fulcher, M O'Kelly, K O'Connell, M Morahan (K Spicer, 62), C Bird (K Dawson, 40).

Richmond: M Pini (E Va'a, 63); J Fallon, A Bateman, S Cottrell, D Chapman; A Davie, A Moore; J Foster, B Williams, J Davies (D Crompton, 57), C Quinnell (A Codling, 70), C Gillies, R Martin, S Quinnell (A Vander, 62), B Clarke (capt).

Referee: C White (Cheltenham).