HANDLING errors proved costly as London Irish lost their Aviva Premiership opener 16-28 against Leicester Tigers.
Just two tries were scored in the contest at Madejski Stadium with Jebb Sinclair crossing for the Exiles after Peter Betham had dabbed down for the visitors.
But it could have been plenty more had Tom Coventry’s men kept composure at the vital moments in attack.
Halani Aulika and Sinclair came straight into the side on the back of their World Cup exploits with Tonga and Canada respectively while Rob McCusker, Brendan McKibbin and Matt Symons were all handed London Irish debuts.
Taking on a side who have reached at least the semi-finals in each of the last 11 seasons, giving away an early penalty was far from the ideal start for the Exiles.
Just two minutes were on the clock when Tommy Bell kicked the first of his seven successful kicks of the afternoon following Irish being penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown.
The hosts responded brightly, carving out an opportunity to level but Chris Noakes failed to convert between the posts.
And they were punished in the extreme with the first try of the match, against the run of play, after just 10 minutes.
With Irish building pressure, Australian Betham intercepted a Noakes pass and charged 50 metres to score under the posts and mark his debut in style.
Things went from bad to worse when Topsy Ojo was sent to the sinbin for a high challenge on Laurence Pearce but this seemed to spur Coventry’s men on, pulling back a try through Sinclair.
And the big Canadian nearly went over for his second of the day, only to be denied by former Exile Adam Thompstone. As a pulsating first half drew to a close, Irish had a try disallowed but Noakes converted from the penalty advantage as Tigers led 19-13 at the break.
Eoin Griffin came close to scoring a try shortly after the restart but exemplary kicking from Bell proved to be the difference between the two sides as he scored all his side’s second half points to end with a personal haul of 23.
Coventry will take charge of his first competitive Irish away match next week when the Exiles travel to face Exeter Chiefs on Saturday (6pm), who also lost on the opening day.
London Irish: Fenby, Lewington (Geraghty 65), Fowlie, Griffin, Ojo, Noakes (Mulchrone 73), McKibbin (Steele 60), Court (Smallbone 55), Paice, Aulika (Halavatau 57), Skivington (Sheriff 70), Symons, Sinclair, Narraway, McCusker (Sisi 70).
Rep not used: Ellis
Try: Sinclair (23)
Pens: Noakes x3 (16,38,46)
Con: Noakes (23)
Leicester Tigers: Tait, Thompstone, Betham, Bai (O. Williams 66), Catchpole, Bell, Harrison, Mulipola (Brugnara 53), Bateman (Thacker 57), Balmain, M. Williams (de Chaves 68), Fitzgerald, Croft, McCaffrey, Pearce (Fonua 58).
Reps not used: Pasquali, White, Odogwu
Try: Betham (10)
Pens: Bell x7 (2,19,25,39,60,74,80)
Con: Bell (10)
Scoring sequence (Irish first): 0-3, 0-10, 3-10, 3-13, 10-13, 10-16, 13-16, 13-19, 16-19, 16-22, 16-25, 16-28.
Referee: Matt Carley
Attendance: 6,596
