London Irish find purpose as Shane Geraghty drop goal finishes Exeter

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jan/11/london-irish-exeter-premiership-match-report

Version 0 of 1.

If Sale’s Danny Cipriani fears his international career is being imperilled because he is at a club challenging for a place in the top six rather than the title, Shane Geraghty’s presence at perennial Premiership strugglers such as London Irish was hardly the closing chapter in the career envisaged when he swaggered on to the international stage as a 20-year-old in the 2007 Six Nations.

On a day of arch-mediocrity and horrendous mistakes he was the one who lit up the gloom to decide an oscillating encounter with a 35-metre drop goal after the countdown clock had reached zero.

Geraghty, now 28 and a senior figure who looks to lead by example rather than catch the eye, deserved the victory more than Irish, who for most of the match showed why their only home victory of the season had been against the division’s whipping boys, London Welsh. No lead looked secure enough for a side with such capacity to self-destruct.

Geraghty was not in the class of his opposite number, Gareth Steenson, when it came to goal-kicking but he was far ahead when it came to playmaking. He created two of his side’s four tries in a first bonus-point victory of the campaign: his long pass to Fergus Mulchrone allowed the centre to free Alex Lewington with an inside pass; and his decision to delay passing to Blair Cowan for a split second created a gap in the drifting defence for the flanker to cross for the second time in the match and give the Exiles a 22-13 lead with 23 minutes to go.

It should have been enough but they were behind again with four minutes remaining, after Dave Ewers’s try and three Steenson penalties, and trapped in their own half. Geraghty had called an attacking move when Irish were awarded a penalty which he kicked to touch. The lineout was won, which was far from a given on an afternoon when both sides had trouble securing the ball at the set piece, and the forwards went off on a series of trundles.

Irish had conceded soft penalties all afternoon, not least the two Steenson kicked in the final 10 minutes to put Chiefs ahead for the third time, but Exeter did not contest the breakdowns and backed their defence. After five phases of getting nowhere Geraghty retreated into the pocket for a drop goal, shouted at his scrum-half Tomas O’Leary to deliver the ball and London Irish’s run of six successive league defeats to Exeter was at an end.

“It showed the class of the player as well as his courage,” said Brian Smith, the London Irish director of rugby. “Not many players would step up like that. If he was with a top-four club, he would be putting a lot of pressure on the England selectors; I would not swap him with any ball carrier in the league.”

Geraghty, whose career slowed down and then went into reverse when he left London Irish for Northampton in 2009, does not expect to add to his six caps, although his tactical kicking matched his distribution and appreciation of what was potentially on.

“I am playing in the wrong positions at 10 and 12 where England have a number of options,” he said. “I spoke to Stuart Lancaster before the start of the autumn internationals but I am not expecting a call-up any time soon. I would like to think I could offer something but all that mattered today was getting our league campaign back on track.”

Irish’s victory all but condemned London Welsh, who had earlier lost at Newcastle, to relegation. Smith had talked about the danger of a season drifting when there was little to play for and focusing the attention of players who were in the final months of their contracts. Tom Homer came off the bench to kick a penalty and the full-back is expected to join his former clubmates Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson at Bath.

Exeter still have play-off aspirations but will not finish in the top four unless they address problems in the set piece and show some polish behind. Two Steenson penalties twice gave them the lead in the first half, sandwiching Cowan’s first try which came from a driving maul in which all except three home backs were involved.

Exeter led 13-5 at the break, Dean Mumm scoring a try after Lewington had fumbled Henry Slade’s deep kick, but they never looked in control. They lost both tighthead props to injury, changing the hooker did little to solve their lineout problems and they had no one standing up like Geraghty to take responsibility. It was their fourth consecutive Premiership defeat and by some way the most grievous.

London Irish Fenby (Homer, 54); Ojo, Mulchrone (Dorrian, 68), Griffin, Lewington; Geraghty, Steele (O’Leary, 54); Court (Parr, 65), Paice, Aulika (Cross, 48), Skivington, Rouse (Leo, 62), Guest (Low, 58), Cowan, Treviranus.

Tries Cowan 2, Guest, Lewington. Con Geraghty. Pen Homer. Drop goal Geraghty.

Exeter Dollman; Nowell, Slade, Hill, Jess; Steenson, Chudley (Thomas, 58); Rimmer, Yeandle (Cowan-Dickie, 50), Francis (Low, ht; Moon, 48), Mumm (capt), Welch, Ewers, Armand, Waldrom.

Tries Mumm, Ewers. Cons Steenson 2. Pens Steenson 4.

Referee D Richards. Attendance 5,909.