London Irish 15-22 Exeter: Exiles remain rooted to the foot of the Premiership table
By Mark Crellin
Last Updated: 21/02/16 7:22pm
Fly-half Gareth Steenson kicked 17 points as Exeter beat London Irish 22-15 at the Madejski on Sunday to leave the Exiles rooted to the bottom of the Aviva Premiership.
Irish fought hard throughout, with David Paice and Ofisa Treviranus both outstanding, but they now find themselves five points adrift of 11th-placed Worcester.
The hosts outscored the Chiefs two tries to one but paid the price for an undisciplined display in which Paice and Ian Nagle were both sin-binned.
The Exiles grabbed the lead just after the 10-minute mark when, following a line-out 45 metres out, Johnny Williams put Topsy Ojo through the defence with a fine pass and the wing made a try for Treviranus under the posts.
Youngster Theo Brophy-Clews added the conversion but Steenson then got Exeter on the board with a penalty, harshly awarded against Treviranus for a high challenge.
And the visitors trailed just 7-6 at half-time, Steenson kicking another three-pointer just before the break after Paice was sin-binned for dragging down a maul.
Irish extended their advantage after the interval, Brophy-Clews on target from the tee after Julian Salvi was whistled for tackling Elliott Stooke in the air.
Paice then returned from the bin but the hosts began to lose their way during the following minutes and Steenson kicked another penalty, before recently-introduced replacement Dave Lewis scored a vital try with half an hour remaining.
The scrum-half raced through a gap after the Exeter forwards had led a sustained assault on the London Irish line and it was 16-10 when Steenson added the extras.
And Steenson added another penalty approaching the hour mark after Nagle had been sent to the bin for a deliberate knock-on.
The hosts were not finished yet however and Ojo scored a sensational solo try with just over 15 minutes to play, stealing the ball from Ian Whitten at a driving maul and racing 85 metres to score.
But the Chiefs forwards were looking strong at the set-piece by this stage and they eased seven points clear five minutes from time, Steenson punishing the hosts after they were penalised at a scrum.
