Mixed results for Exiles

A dramatic last-gasp drop goal from Shane Geraghty made sure London Irish snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at home to Exeter Chiefs.

Irish scored the first try of the day, thanks to Blair Cowan but it was Chiefs who took the lead in at halftime thanks to Dean Mumm's try five minutes before time.

Irish however raced ahead after the break with tries from Cowan, Alex Lewington and Tom Guest giving them control of the match.

Chiefs weren't finished though and Dave Ewers' converted try and Steenson's penalty brought them within two and setup a nail-biting finale.

It looked like the boot of Steenson had given Exeter the win with a 76th minute penalty but Geraghty's drop goal in the 81st minute ultimately separated the sides.

Exeter started brightly, harrying the Irish defence into conceding a penalty, however Henry Slade's ambitious effort from just inside half-way struck the post.

Exeter continued to press and only last ditch defending was able to prevent Slade getting over the line and keep the scores level.

Exeter did finally take the lead after 19 minutes when flyhalf Steenson coolly kicked a penalty from 30 yards out.

Irish were awarded the chance to respond immediately but Shane Geraghty's penalty attempt came up just short.

The home side appeared galvanised by going behind and sustained pressure brought the opening try of the game in the 26th minute as flank Cowan was taken over by a driving maul.

Geraghty was unable to convert from out on the right, meaning that Irish had to be content with a narrow 5-3 lead.

Irish's lead was short lived however as first a Steenson penalty and then captain Mumm's 35th minute try, scored wide right after good work by Exeter's forwards and converted by Steenson, allowed the Chief's to build a 13-5 lead at the break.

Irish cut the gap to just a single point in the 45th minute as a quick break and smart lay-off from a line-out allowed Guest to burst over with Geraghty adding the extras.

The home side now looked a constant threat and re-took the lead just two minutes later when Fergus Mulchrome's inside pass from the left allowed Lewington to dive under the covering tackles to score.

Exeter now looked rattled as Geraghty's quick hands freed Cowan to power through a gap in the defence and score his second try of the game with 56 minutes gone.

An end-to-end game delivered its sixth try on the hour mark as Ewers crashed over following a powerful run by Sam Hill. Steenson completed his second conversion of the match to bring the away side within two at 22-20.

With 12 minutes to play a Tom Homer penalty extended Irish's lead to five before minutes Steenson made the score 25-23 with a penalty of his own.

After a frantic spell another Steenson penalty put Exeter in the lead with just four minutes remaining.

However, there was still time for more drama, with the clock showing time-up the home side were able to work the space for Geraghty to kick the decisive drop-goal with the last action of the match.

*Elsewhere, Sinoti Sinoti caused havoc at Kingston Park as Newcastle Falcons ended their four-game Premiership losing streak by beating winless London Welsh 38-7.

New Zealand-born flyer, Sinoti, has beaten the most defenders in the Premiership this season and he set about showing why, breaking the gain-line for fun while chipping in with a firsthalf score.

Tries from Rob Vickers, Mike Blair and Will Welch followed in the firsthalf before Ally Hogg and Tom Catterick, who nailed four of six conversions, added two more after the break.

And though Welsh did score a slick try, finished off by Nick Scott, it ultimately meant little as they suffered their 13th Premiership defeat of the season.

All Sunday's scores and scorers!

Newcastle Falcons 38-7 London Welsh

For Newcastle:

Tries: Hogg, Welch, Vickers, Blaire, Catterick, Sinoti

Cons: Catterick 4

For London Welsh:

Try: Scott

Con: Robinson

Teams:

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Alex Tait, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Calum Green, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Riki Tipuna, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Alesana Tuilagi.

London Welsh: 15 Will Robinson, 14 Elliot Kear, 13 Tom May (captain), 12 Seb Jewell, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Piri Weepu, 9 Paul Rowley, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Pete Browne, 5 James Down, 4 Ben West, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Nathan Trevett

Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Ricky Reeves, 18 Ben Cooper, 19 Richard Thorpe, 20 Ben Pienaar, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Olly Barkley, 23 Seb Stegmann.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

Assistant referees: Roger Baileff and Andy Watson

TMO: David Grashoff

London Irish 28-26 Exeter Chiefs

For London Irish:

Tries: Guest, Cowen 2, Lewington

Con: Geraghty

Pen: Homer

DG: Geraghty

For Exeter:

Tries: Mumm, Ewers,  

Cons: Steenson 2

Pens: Steenson 4

Teams:

London Irish: 15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eoin Griffin, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Tom Guest, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Harry Allen, 17 Matt Parr, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Kieran Low, 21 Tomás O'Leary, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Tom Homer.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Carl Rimmer.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Johnson, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Byron McGuigan.

Referee: Dean Richards

Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey and Andrew Pearce

TMO: Graham Hughes