London Irish secured an impressive bonus point win away from home, their first of the competition, as they beat Racing Metro 34-14 in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup on the weekend. They lost to Edinburgh and Cardiff Blues in the first two rounds.
The visitors scored some nice tries despite trailing early on, namely through Jonathan Spratt, Joe Ansbro, and Adam Thomstone, with the latter scoring a brace.
Fijian winger Sereli Bobo scored another quality try for Racing, and with a 14-10 lead for the home side they looked to be well positioned at the break. That was until Irish had a great spell in the second half where they scored twice to shoot into a 27-14 lead.
A Thomstone interception in the final ten minutes sealed the result as Racing chased the game.
"It was always going to be very tough coming here. Everyone talks about winning your home games in the Heineken Cup but the key to surviving is to win on the road," said boss Toby Booth.
"To go up against a French institution like Racing - with the budget, resources and quality of players they have - and to win is a great result for us. Consistency is absolutely key for us now. This win will mean nothing if we don't back it up it next week."
London Irish host Racing Metro for the return leg this coming weekend.