LONDON Irish recorded a sweet 16th consecutive victory in all competitions as they edged to a 26-20 Greene King IPA Championship victory at Richmond on Saturday, writes Richard Ashton.

It was a 12th straight league win for the unbeaten Exiles, although they were made to battle hard by the division’s basement boys.

An early James Marshall penalty put Irish in front at the Athletic Ground, but the hosts hit back and took the lead when centre Cameron Mitchell broke through some weak defence to dot down for the opening try.

Exiles hit back four minutes later when a smart Marshall break allowed Ben Ransom to free Blair Cowan, who notched the first try of the afternoon for Nick Kennedy’s men. Marshall’s attempted conversion drifted wide but the visitors were 8-5 to the good.

Fergus Mulchrone celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday and added a second try for his side on 25 minutes, but Richmond fought back with a score of their own when Jack Allcock went over from the back of a driving line-out.

A Robert Kirby penalty shortly before the interval cut the gap to just two points, but Marshall kicked two of his own during the third quarter to extend Exiles’ advantage to 21-13.

The visitors appeared to have made the game safe shortly after when lock Sebastian De Chaves powered over at the back of a rolling maul, but Richmond continued to show a heart belying their lowly league position.

Henry Cheesman crashed over to reduce the deficit to just 26-20, but Irish held firm to record another victory and maintain their seven-point gap to Yorkshire Carnegie at the top of the table.

London Irish host second-bottom Bedford Blues on Saturday (2pm).

  • FERGUS Mulchrone has signed a new two-year deal with London Irish.

The 30-year-old centre joined Exiles from Rotherham Titans in 2013, and has gone on to make 70 appearances for the club.

He said: “London Irish is a club that has big ambitions and I’m delighted to have extended my stay here.

“The culture within the club is getting stronger and stronger with each day.”