Exiles Down Leinster In The Heineken Cup

Leinster 9 London Irish 12

Ryan Lamb kicked a dramatic late winner as London Irish stunned Heineken Cup champions Leinster 12-9 in Dublin.

The England youngster stepped off the bench but showed the greatest composure to land the crucial 79th-minute penalty. 

It was the first time the holders of the Heineken Cup had lost the opening fixture of their defence of the title in six years, since Toulouse in 2003. 

However there were few who would argue that the Exiles did not deserve to come away from the Royal Dublin Showground with at least a share of the spoils after their impressive display. 

London Irish captain Bob Casey was named man of the match following an inspirational display that caused Leinster havoc in the lineout while the visiting back-row dominated the tackle area to frustrate the champions. 

It was a dramatic turnaround for London Irish who feared they were going to be blown aside by Leinster in the opening exchanges. Brian O'Driscoll's cutting break inside the opening minute saw Jonathan Sexton kick the opening points. 

London Irish stemmed the flood and levelled through Peter Hewat before Sexton re-established Leinster's three-point lead with a second. 

Leinster No8 Jamie Heaslip and Exiles hooker David Paice were sin-binned on 26 minutes as tempers boiled over with a scuffle involving a dozen players on the touchline. Sexton missed with his third attempt allowing Hewat to equalise again on the stroke of half-time. 

The second half became a battle of wills between the best defences in the Magners League and Guinness Premiership, though it was London Irish who showed more willing, even launching attacks from their own try line. 

However Hewat twice missed the chance to take the lead for the first time and it was left to replacement Lamb to kick London irish ahead on 65 minutes. 

O'Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald went close to forcing an opening and Sexton tied the scores at 9-9 on 74 minutes. 

But as the game hung in the balance, Leinster prop Mike Ross kicked the ball as he retreated in an offside position, following a burst from Sailosi Tagicakibau and Lamb kicked the points. 

Leinster launched one final desperate attack and thought they had earned a penalty following a high tackle, but the referee waved away the claims and the Exiles claimed a famous win.