London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith was delighted after his side reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
London Irish secure maiden Heineken Cup quarter-final appearance
London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith was delighted after his side reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
The Exiles triumphed 24-11 in Treviso to secure top spot in Pool One and a home fixture in the last eight at the Madejski Stadium in April.
"We were a bit patchy in the second half, but this is a great achievement for the club to reach the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time," said Smith.
"We ended the first half in a good position having scored three tries and we needed to start the second half positively.
"But we gifted them six points and that gave them a big lift. We struggled to get our rhythm back and we were our own worst enemy.
"We wanted to keep our line intact, but they managed to score a good try. But we've finished with 25 tries in the Pool and that shows our attacking potential.
Underdogs
"We have a big advantage playing at home in the last eight and I don't think anyone is going to enjoy coming to the Madejski Stadium.
"We'll probably start as the underdogs, but that's the way we like it and we'll look to build from here."
Smith singled out the efforts of scrum-half Peter Richards against Treviso for special praise.
The England international, who used to play for the Italian club, scored the first try of the game and paved the way for a second before leaving the game at half-time with a bicep injury.
"It speaks volumes of Peter's performance that he only played for 40 minutes yet was still named as the man-of-the-match," added Smith.
"He set the tempo for us and was quite outstanding."
