Declan’s delight as Irish clip Falcons wings

Declan Kidney was full of praise for his London Irish side, as the Exiles maintained their fine form with a 43-21 victory over Newcastle Falcons at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Irish ran riot, scoring six tries, to climb into sixth spot in the Gallagher Premiership.

“We played very well – and we got our rewards,” said Kidney.

“Newcastle are a very good side, they put seven tries into us last season, so it was nice to get the victory.

“We knew they wouldn’t go away but we stayed on point and the rewards came the boys’ way at key times.”

He added: “We had a good shape about us and the players came up with the goods at the right times.

“We’ve had days when we didn’t make the most of the opportunities that came our way – against Newcastle we took them when they did.

“We’re learning to have that consistency now – when our work-rate is high, we can give most teams a good game.

“We’re delighted – but we’re not going to get carried away.”

Saturday’s win was the Exiles first home victory in the league this season – and Kidney admitted that made it extra special.

“It was important we got that home win,” he said.

“It’s a fantastic stadium and the craic is mighty – the noise was great and you could tell the crowd really enjoyed themselves.”