Irish spirit key says boss Booth
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:55
London Irish boss Toby Booth was keen to pay tribute to his passionate Exiles, after seeing them overcome a high flying Sale side in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night.
The Sharks arrived at the Madjeski Stadium undefeated and had not conceded a try in their four previous outings - all that though was irrelevant on the night.
Irish, fresh off a remarkable comeback win over fellow London rivals Harlequins last weekend, were clearly still filled with confidence and scored four tries as they went on to complete their 28-8 demolition act of Sale.
Speaking after the match, Exile boss Toby Booth admitted he had been very pleased with his team's showing and also offered a little insight into what he believed had made all the difference on the night.
"We brought the defensive intensity that we had against Wasps and if you have nights like that you are on a winning ticket," he said.
"The strike force we have got, and the passion and a lot of competitiveness, that is the real thing that is fuelling this side to go forward."
Sale Director of Rugby Philippe Saint-André was clearly not a happy man following his side's performance, but he did praise the home team... eventually.
"You have Andrew Sheridan in your scrum and you are penalised (rather) than the other team - it is a bit of a joke for me.
"They did well, they are clever, they are crafty and there are some fantastic match winners and they deserved to win today.
"We made too many mistakes, we dropped too many balls in contact, we did not keep the ball enough and against a team like them, if you lose the ball in contact, they punish you."
