As always, the trip to Irish was highly enjoyable. The early Kick off may have influenced the atmosphere, but the pre-and post match entertainment at the ground and in the Three Guineas ensured the Fezzed supporters arrived at the ground in good spirits. It was commented on that Mr Doyle was a better cheerleader than the Starlights, Well what do you expect from a beautiful Irish wolfhound?

For us long-suffering supporters of the Men in Black we were unsure how the game would pan out after the debacle against Quins of last week.  Irish are in a good run of form at present and they looked a cohesive and efficient unit in the early stages.  However, it was Sarries that took the lead after Delon was harshly adjudged to have "knocked down" a pass that he appeared to be making every effort to intercept.  Still, Sarries were grateful for what would prove to be one of the very few 50/50s that went their way all afternoon, and Glen duly slotted the penalty.  This was cancelled out by a penalty from Hewat for offside in the 10th minute, and the same player kicked Irish into a 6-3 lead in the 14th minute after a quick break by Hodgson saw Sarries players pinged for not coming back onside quickly enough (silly law this, Linford Christie on drugs - allegedly - couldn't have got back on the right side quickly enough).
 
25 minutes gone, and one of the pivotal moments of the game; after a warning by Pearson that any more offending by Saracens would result in a yellow card, Chesney was sin-binned for..err.. well, none of us could tell really.  It was close to the Sarries line and the away side were defending resolutely, making a conscious effort to stay behind the back foot and not infringe (our vantage point was virtually in line with the play).  Irish coughed the ball up, Sarries pounced on it, again no offide or infringing visible.  Yet Mr. Pearson felt he'd seen something and off TMC went.  Mystifyingly, despite being only two yards from the Sarries line and Sarries now a man light in the pack, Irish decided against the scrum and Hewat kicked Irish into a 9-3 lead.
 
To their credit, and despite the numerical (and wholly incorrect) disadvantage, Sarries didn't buckle.  Indeed a Glenda penalty for offside brought the score back to 9-6 in the 28th Minute before another Pearson moment of madness saw Irish into a 12-6 lead in the 35th minute.  Once again the right arm of the Geordie Joker came shooting out on the Irish side indicating a penalty advantage for Irish about five metres outside the Sarries 22.  Six phases, and 90 seconds later, Irish coughed the ball up 10 METRES INSIDE THE SARRIES 22 and Sarries re-gathered.  But back we went for the Irish penalty despite the fact that advantage must have been many times expunged by that stage.  Quite farcical, really.  Still, 6-3 during the sin bin period was an acceptable return given the cards stacked against the away team.
 
Sarries ended the first half well though, a Rod Penney break resulting in a try for Brucie Skirving.  In view of the odds against them, a 13-12 half-time lead was a very acceptable position.  If Mr. Pearson could at least be impartial in the second half we may have half a chance.
 
Despite an un-penalized Irish knock-on from the restart (To which a little voice behind me grumbled ‘No, wait – it’s OK, he’s wearing green’) Sarries were first out of the blocks in the second half. An off-the-ball tackle resulting in a penalty in the 48th minute, which Glenda capitalized on.  Irish were now infringing regularly and it was becoming painfully apparent that none of their players would be binned at any point (That being said, Saracens weren’t exactly Angels either).  However in the 53rd minute came the one moment of fluidity in the Irish back line and a great outside break lead to a try for Tagicakibau.  Hewat couldn't convert to leave the score a close 17-16. Hewat’s boot was more reliable after some porous midfield defense by Saracens (not aided by the fact Del boy was limping) let Gonzalo Tiesi (obviously come through the Irish Academy?) in under the sticks in the 58th minute.  20 minutes to go and Irish were 24-16 up.  Things looked ominous.
 
Glen pulled the score back to 24-19 in the 64th minute after Irish pulling back off the ball had again been punished with only a penalty, before Hewat again kicked from inside the 22 and increased the lead to 8 points with another penalty in the 70th minute.  After some good lead up play Sarries did get over the corner in the 74th minute through Kameli, although Glen unfortunately missed the conversion leaving the gap still at three points at 27-24. 

Saracens had their tails up and had some good possession. The travelling support dared to dream that an away win would be possible, following a beautiful string of play from the backs from deep within the Irish half. Regrettably, with the ball right out on the wing and most defenders beaten, Ratty knocked on and the Fez ‘ shoulders slumped once more.

With the clock showing 2 minutes to play Mr. Pearson obviously felt that the penalty stats were a little unbalanced (he says with woeful understatement) and so, to even things up, he awarded a string of penalties to the away side.  The last of these came with time having expired and so Glen had a chance to level the match.  Unfortunately the kick drifted wide and a result which would not have flattered the away side just eluded them.
 
I agree with the Gaffer when he says that there were plenty of positives to take from this game.  We just have to cut out the errors in our handling and be a little more savvy around the breakdown area, especially in front of a vocal crowd with an easily influenced referee (although more help from the touch judges especially with regard to the policing of the offside line would not have gone amiss).  It has been said before, but we also really need to sort out the lineout, Undoubtedly Jack was missed in the jumpers, but the throws were weak, we failed to challenge the opposition’s takes, and, at an accuracy of just over 60% our line-out is not good enough.

The performance was infinitely better than that witnessed by those at VR last week and with other top teams slipping up the GP is looking nail-bitingly close. However it is blatant, that not only our home, but our away form will be vital if we are going to achieve the ambition of top 4. However with the team putting in a spirited display and some key players to come back from injury I the next few weeks, I am in a glass half-full mood at the moment.

Scoring sequence: 0-3 (Jackson Pen), 3-3 (Hewart Pen), 6-3 (Hewart Pen), 9-3(Hewart Pen), 9-6 (Jackson Pen), 12-6 (Hewart Pen), 12-13 (Skirving Try, Jackson Conv) (half-time), 12-16 (Jackson Pen), 17-16 (Tagicakibau Try), 24-16 (Tiesi Try, Hewart Conv), 24-19 (Jackson Pen), 27-19 (Hewart Pen), 27-24 (Ratavou Try).

London Irish: P Hewat; T Ojo, D Armitage (rep: G Tiesi, 41), S Mapusua, S Tagicakibau; M Catt, P Hodgson; T Lea'aetoa (rep: R Skuse, 55), D Paice, F Rautenbach (rep: D Murphy, 41), N Kennedy, B Casey, K Roche (rep: D Danaher, 50), S Armitage, R Thorpe.

Saracens: D Scarbrough; R Haughton (rep: K Ratuvou, 55), F Leonelli (rep: B Russell, 60), A Powell, R Penney; G Jackson, N de Kock; N Lloyd, F Ongaro (rep: A Kyriacou, 60), C Visagie (rep: C Johnston, 25-35, 55), K Chesney (sin-bin, 24-34), H Vyvyan, P Gustard, D Seymour (rep: T Ryder, 77), B Skirving.

Referee: D Pearson.

Attendance: 8,290.

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