EUROPEAN CUP QUARTER-FINALS London Irish 20 Perpignan 9DECLAN DANAHER is the only survivor from the London Irish side that last played in a major game at Twickenham. Six years ago the flanker helped the Exiles thump the highly fancied Northampton in the Powergen Cup final in front of a full house of 74,500.
It was appropriate, then, that the unsung Danaher should plunge over the line on the half-hour for the only try of a game that proved so crucial in helping unfashionable Irish set up a return to Twickenham against Toulouse, the most successful club in the history of the Heineken European Cup, in a semi-final in three weeks' time. At the start of the season that might have seemed as likely as Cardiff City appearing in the FA Cup final.
Danaher, who qualifies for England despite the monicker, is typical of this Irish side, many of whom would pass unrecognised during the week if they were to stroll the streets of Reading.
Irish's other scorer, Peter Hewat, was virtually unheard of last summer when his fellow Australian Brian Smith, the club's director of rugby, persuaded him to leave New South Wales for Berkshire. But the fullback, unwanted by the Wallabies, may just prove to be the season's best import.
Hewat was on a hot streak on a chilly afternoon. His five penalties not only flew between the uprights as expertly as those of his opposite number, Percy Montgomery, but his tactical kicking left the Perpignan left-wing, Adrien Plante, a wreck by the end of the afternoon.
Plante must have felt like digging himself a hole as the ball constantly eluded his grasp to bounce into touch. And once it did, Irish's two lords of the lineout, Bob Casey and Nick Kennedy, cleaned up.
Kennedy's snatching of Perpignan's own ball for the second time was to prove especially profitable, Irish working the ball infield for Mike Catt to hoist it toward the corner and give Danaher his moment of glory.
Irish also have a bloody-minded streak vital in tight encounters such as these. One crucial moment came five minutes before the break with Perpignan threatening. Plante dived over in the corner but somehow Irish's scrumhalf, Paul Hodgson, flung himself at the wing to knock him into touch a split second before he grounded the ball. Perpignan heads slumped after that, a frustrating game ending with their flanker Villami Vaki punching Steffon Armitage and being shown a red card.
"We have been building for this for a couple of years. This is the day the team has come of age," Casey said. "We're young and ambitious and this was a top Perpignan side who have won at Bourgoin and Stade Français recently. It's a fantastic day for the club."
Irish's only worry was an injury to Catt. The 36-year-old hurt his right knee after a quarter of an hour and limped thereafter until the moment he made the try. It would be a sad end to a career now being measured in weeks if Catt does not recover to face Toulouse but appropriate if his last act on a rugby field was a piece of instinctive play that lit up the afternoon.
LONDON IRISH: Hewat; Ojo, Tiesi (D Armitage, 56; Richards, 75), Mapusua, Tagicakibau; Catt (Geraghty, 30), Hodgson; Dermody (Lea'aetoa, h-t), Paice, Rautenbach (Thorpe, 78); Kennedy, Casey (capt); Danaher, S Armitage, Murphy.
PERPIGNAN: Montgomery; Manas, Marty, Grandclaude, Plante; Laharrague, Cusiter (Durand, 64); Chobet (Freshwater, 54), Tincu (Guirado 54), Mas (Bozzi, 64); Alvarez-Kairelis (capt), Hines (Porcu, 64); Vaki, Tonita (Choly, 54), Tuilagi. Sent off: Vaki, 80.
Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).
