Late Irish show denies Sarries

A disappointing final 10 minutes from Saracens saw them concede 11 points against 14 men London Irish to lose 27-14 at the Madejski Stadium.

With Chris Hala’ufia in the sin bin and the visitors trailing by just two points entering the final 0 minutes of the game, it looked as though Sarries had a chance to snatch a victory, but they failed to take their chances and allowed Peter Hewat to strike two penalties and debutant Tom Homer to score his second try of the match.

Sarries were leading 11-8 at the interval after a debut try for Wikus Van Heerden midway through the first half but in truth, they rarely put together enough pressure or possession to threaten the home side as the game wore on.

The game started brightly for the home side after taking the restart and forcing their way upfield and with the visitors caught offside, Peter Hewat struck a simple three points.

However, from the restart the same thing happened at the other end of the field and Glen Jackson didn’t waste his chance to level the scores.

But after failing to take the ball as the game began once again, Sarries were immediately on the backfoot and when Nick Kennedy charged down the right, it left the visitors defence vulnerable. After several phases pushing for the line, Shane Geraghty found himself in space and his crossfield kick picked out debutant Tom Homer to score in the corner. Hewat’s conversion was wide.

That sparked Sarries into life and could have resulted in a penalty try for the visitors when they broke down the left. A good passage of possession ended with the visitors enjoying a three man overlap only five metres from the line, but a deliberate knock-on prevented a certain try with referee Tim Wigglesworth not even going to his pocket. Jackson pulled the resulting penalty across goal.

But the try did come midway through the half. A terrific break from Noah Cato saw him run 30 metres before being hauled down. But he forced the home side into conceding a penalty on the touchline and instead of going for the posts; Jackson put his side deep into the Irish 22. From the lineout, the forwards rumbled over and Wikus van Heerden scored his debut try for the club in his first full start. Jackson’s conversion was wide.

Good breaks from Rodd Penney and Alex Goode kept the pressure on the Irish side who had their own chances to score more points in what was proving to be a very open 40 minutes with both sides looking to run the ball. 
Hewat had a chance to level the scores with just five minutes left in the opening half, but he horribly pulled his kick from in front of the posts.

The early exchanges of the second half were a kicking battle with both sides looking to dominate territory but it was the home side who were having the upper hand and enjoying the opportunity to run the ball from deep.

Hewat levelled the scores on 50 minutes with a simple effort in front of the posts and then the home side crossed for a second try two minutes later. A pressurising the Saracens defensive line, it ended with an overlap out wide and Richard Thorpe crossed in the corner.

However, Jackson reduced the lead with a long range effort to make it a two point game going into the final 20 minutes. But he failed in an easier attempt minutes later to give his side the lead once again.

Saracens were playing a very loose game and that suited the home side who were enjoying running at every opportunity. However, Sarries were given a lift when Irish No.8 Chris Hala’ufia was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Alex Goode with just 12 minutes remaining in the game.

However, despite pressurising the home line, Saracens wasted their chance once again with an unforced error and that lifted the home side – so much so that they went upfield and forced a penalty which was struck by Hewat but it still left Sarries within five points of the home side with five minutes remaining.

However, when Hewat took the restart and raced upfield to force Saracens into another error, the game was won. Michael Owen was sinbinned for killing the ball and Hewat’s kick to his side to within touching distance of the win. And when Homer went over for his second try of the match with the final action of the game, it made for a disappointing day for the Sarries side.