Lamb silences champions

Ryan Lamb kicked a penalty a minute from time to give London Irish a 12-9 victory over Heineken Cup champions Leinster in Dublin.

The Irish side began their defence of the trophy in confident mood after demolishing Munster last weekend, but could not break through a swarming London Irish defence.

Try-scoring opportunities were at a premium for both sides but it was the visitors from across the Irish Sea who claimed a vital away victory that was based around a dominant lineout.

Time and again Leinster had possession inside London Irish territory only to give it away at the set-piece.

The hosts took an early lead through a Jonathan Sexton penalty following a burst through the line from Brian O'Driscoll, but that was quickly cancelled out by Peter Hewat's boot.

The lead was re-established on 11 minutes when Sexton was illegally tackled and the fly-half slotted the resulting penalty from the touchline.

After that the game degenerated into a stale affair enlivened briefly by a scuffle on 26 minutes that resulted in yellow cards for Jamie Heaslip and David Paice.

Neither defence looked like being breached and both Sexton and Chris Malone missed drop-goal attempts born largely of frustration.

Sexton had the chance to ease Leinster further ahead again two minutes from the break following another high tackle, but missed a straightforward chance and his side quickly paid a greater price.

From the re-start Shane Horgan held on a fraction too long on the deck and Hewat levelled the scores with the last kick of the half, effectively a six-point swing inside two minutes.

Contact area

The Exiles began to have the better of the contact area - at least in the eyes of the referee - but after Sexton and Shane Jennings were pinged, Hewat missed two difficult penalty chances.

Lamb was introduced midway through the half and edged Irish ahead for the first time from 49 metres out, after Leinster again were adjudged to have held on at the breakdown.

Leinster's most effective attack came 15 minutes from time when a mis-cued clearance from Fitzgerald found the arms of O'Driscoll on the left wing, but despite a series of neat handling moves, London Irish were able to slow down the play and hold out.

Only the the boot looked capable of settling the contest and so it proved. Sexton levelled six minutes from time following a scrum infringement, but four minutes later Lamb calmly knocked over a penalty awarded for offside from 46 metres.

Leinster had a final chance to grab a match-winning try but despite some ferocious pressure on their line, the Exiles once again held out.

One defeat has not ended Leinster's defence of their title, but in a group that includes Scarlets and Brive, dropped points at home could well prove fatal.