Woodward's Irish bank on their luck

Moseley 26 London Irish 29

A couple of soft tries courtesy of a naive Moseley defence provided London Irish with the stuffing they needed to maintain their cushion in second place in the Second Division. Without those, and the ever-reliable boot of Michael Corcoran, who scored 14 points, the Exiles and their dreams of promotion would have come apart at the seams.

"That was absolutely awful. A nightmare," their coach, Clive Woodward, admitted. "It was a shambles. I'm hugely disappointed." It was a poor advertisement for any potential recruit who may have been considering a move to Sunbury in the event that Irish ultimately hold off the challenge of London Scottish and going up with Northampton.

Inept handling, inappropriate decisions, fumbles, stumbles and a jumble of other errors conspired to make what should have been a straightforward victory anything but. But if they can win when they play this badly the chances are that their proverbial luck will see them through.

Were they to win promotion Woodward is confident they would stay in the top flight. "This is a sleeping giant," he insisted. "A big-time club. There is no shortage of players waiting to join, but I have told them that until everything is settled I cannot talk to anyone."

According to the captain, Garry Halpin, that includes a number of current Ireland internationals. Even Moseley, who will be stuck in the Second Division for at least another season, are making moves in the transfer market.

Frano Botica, the former All Black currently with Castleford rugby league club, is expected to make a decision on his proposed move to The Reddings within a month and Barrie Corless, Moseley's director of rugby, hinted that he has been talking to players from both codes while the club tries to get a business consortium together to provide the necessary financial clout.

But Woodward, the former Leicester and England centre, is adamant that money should not be the motivator at London Irish. "This is as wealthy a club as any other," Woodward said, "and my goal is to get players at London Irish paid more than anyone else, but I don't want them to come to the club just for the cheque." The claim of wealth is backed by Halpin who said: "There is a huge Irish business community in London. There are a number of punters poised to get on board with us if we go up."

Woodward reckons the club needs to persuade perhaps half a dozen of those to part with between pounds 200,000 and pounds 300,000 each to turn the Exiles into a centre of Irish rugby excellence, with the aim of attracting and bringing on young Gaelic talent.

As for his own ambitions, Woodward has his own business and would be reluctant to increase his commitment on the coaching front. "It would take a lot - a king's ransom," he said, "to make me go full time."

The Irish themselves were lucky to survive until full-time on Saturday.

Moseley: Tries Chudleigh, Ball; Conversions Kerr 2; Penalties Kerr 4. London Irish: Tries Peters, Walsh; Conversions Corcoran 2; Penalties Corcoran 5.

Moseley: A Kerr; D Hanson, M Smallcombe, J Bonney, D Wilkinson; A Houston, M Chudleigh; S McKinnon, D Ball, N Webber, N Fletcher, B Langley, J Noble, M Ord, S Owen (capt).

London Irish: C O'Shea; M Corcoran, R Henderson, P Flood, J Bishop; S Burns, T Ewington; L Mooney, R Kellam, G Halpin (capt), D Peters, A Meadows, A Dougan, C Bird, B Walsh.

Referee: P Murgatroyd (Grimsby).