Booth's Exiles bash Brive
London Irish ran-in five tries as they boosted prospects of qualifying from Pool Six with a 36-3 triumph at Brive in the Heineken Cup.
Last Updated: 13/12/09 9:22am
London Irish ran-in five tries as they boosted prospects of qualifying from Heineken Cup Pool Six with a 36-3 triumph at Brive.
Tom Homer crossed twice while Chris Malone, Steffon Armitage and Richard Thorpe added further scores, Malone returning a personal tally of 14 points after being handed the No 10 jersey ahead of Ryan Lamb.
Malone gave the Exiles the start they had been looking for with a stunning solo effort after just four minutes, beating three defenders before dummying past full-back Horacio Agulla to touch down under the posts.
Brive fought their way back into the match with a strong spell of possession but were rocked again on 18 minutes when winger Homer crept in at the corner after good work from Seilala Mapusua.
Malone missed the conversion but capped a fine opening period for the visitors with a routine penalty to make it 15-0, although Brive finally got on the scoreboard when Alexis Palisson replied from halfway on the whistle.
But Irish reinforced their superiority shortly after the break, Armitage benefiting from weak tackling to score following neat work from Malone, Seveali'i and Homer.
The Top 14 side were then reduced to 14 men when replacement Guillaume Ribes was sent off for punching as tempers flared, and Toby Booth's side made the most of their extra man as Thorpe galloped on to Malone's pass.
Irish's South African hooker Danie Coetzee and Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux were sin-binned for fighting eight minutes from time but Homer had the final say with his second try in the right corner in the final minute, leaving late replacement Lamb to complete the scoring with the conversion.
