LONDON IRISH'S 19-25 defeat by visiting Sale left 2,000 spectators stunned at Sunbury on Saturday. Not only did it condemn the Exiles to the relegation zone but not much further thought was required to realise that the result has wider implications for Irish rugby.
If a side containing seven internationals - all of whom, with the exception of Co nor O'Shea, are believed to be in the current plans of Murray Kidd - could be beaten by an otherwise unremarkable club side then what does that say about the pool of talent that will be fielded at Lansdowne Road and other citadels later in the year.
After taking the lead within the first minute from a David Humphreys drop goal, London Irish let the game get away by conceding three tries within 30 minutes. Gareth Stocks, Mark Warr and Neil Ryan all crossed the line almost unhindered for Sale and by the time the men in green woke up it was too late.
Clive Woodward tried to put a positive spin on matters. "The backs played really well. We are almost doing the things I want the team to do and we are not going to change just because of one or two results," said the London Irish coach.
Not many who heard this believed that this was the sole reason for his team's second successive defeat. Worryingly for both Kidd and Wood ward was the fact that Gabriel Fulcher limped around for the entire game with a heavily strapped left hamstring and was less than effective in the line-out.
If getting their internationals to raise their game is a problem at London Irish it is clearly not the case with Harlequins. Jim Staples and Keith Wood were again outstanding for the league leaders and once more they both got on the score sheet with a try apiece in the 35-24 victory at Bristol.
The home side saw a stunning performance and a try from David Corkery despite, for the second time in a fortnight, his efforts being in a losing cause. Wood's international career has been on hold due to a shoulder injury but it is a fair bet that the hooker is in line to regain his place from Allen Clarke, who was missing from the Northampton side that defeated Orrell 41-7. The prolific Jonathan Bell again bagged a brace of tries for the victors.
The biggest shock of the day came with West Hartlepool's 25-16 victory over a Saracens side boasting Richard and Paul Wallace, Philippe Sella and Kyran Bracken. It was the Teeside club's first win in 23 matches.
Meanwhile Wasps became the first side to achieve the feat of beating both Bath and Leicester in successive Courage League matches to maintain their 100 per cent record for the season.
However, the 11,000 crowd at Loftus Road witnessed a sorry spectacle as running rugby was at a premium in a game dominated by penalties and line-outs. The one sparkling moment of the match came deep into injury-time when replacement wing Phil Hopley dived down the blind side to clinch Wasps's first win over the visitors in four years.
By that time, the hosts should have held an unassailable lead but kicker and Canadian captain Gareth Rees landed lust two penalties from seven attempts.
