Heineken Cup holders Leinster were stunned at home by London Irish on Friday, as they went down 12-9 in front of their loyal supporters at the RDS in Dublin.
Jonathan Sexton and Peter Hewat converted two penalties each before Ryan Lamb came on as a replacement and made his mark, putting the Exiles 9-6 in the lead.
Sexton levelled the scores with his third kick at goal, but a late penalty by Lamb, following an offside decision, proved the difference between the two sides as he coolly slotted the three points for the win.
“We’ve won a game in the back-yard of a very difficult place to come against the defending champions that are in good form,” said London Irish coach Toby Booth.
“Of course, we were expecting a very difficult contest.
“We’ve snuck it at the end, and I think the enthusiasm with which the boys celebrated was purely out of respect for Leinster because they know how hard it is to come here and get anything.
“Part of the evolution of London Irish has been trying to be adaptable. Being able to win in different ways is all about your evolution as a team.”
Leinster coach Michael Cheika admitted his side were not good enough on the day.
“We didn’t play well on the ground. We had the opportunity to put a fair bit of play together at various moments but we weren’t effective enough at ruck time.
“I think that was a really costly area of the game for us.
“We got a losing bonus point but the target was to get four and we didn’t get it.”
Time:
02:34
Note:
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