Niall Woods put the boot into West Hartlepool on their return to the English Premiership. The rampant Irish winger blitzed West with 24 points in a convincing victory at Victoria Park.
Woods scored a try and weighed in with a further 19 points with his trusty left boot, kicking all five conversions and three penalties. The day proved a massive anticlimax for Hartlepool, who were given a rugby lesson by Dick Best's team.
West will need to regroup quickly, and player/coach Michael Brewer, the ex-New Zealand forward, must use every ounce of his knowledge and experience to lift his troops ahead of daunting away trips to Gloucester and Wasps.
The hosts had made the brighter start at their new stadium, one they share with Hartlepool United. Two penalties from outhalf Steve Vile gave them a 6-0 lead inside 17 minutes.
But London Irish shocked West with two tries inside two minutes to go into a lead they never looked like relinquishing. Scrum-half Peter Richards touched down after a powerful burst by Kevin Spicer in the 22nd minute, and winger Justin Bishop raced in for the next after a great break into the line by full back Conor O'Shea.
Woods added two penalties and scored the third try himself a minute from the break when he caught West winger Hugo Bishop sleeping to give the Exiles a commanding 27-6 lead at half-time.
London Irish added a fourth try early in the second half thanks to a brilliant run from former South African centre Brendan Venter, but they had to wait until over two minutes into stoppage time for their final score through the impressive O'Shea.
Woods took his tally to 24 thanks to both conversions and a penalty.
The 2,000-strong crowd at least had two moments to cheer in the second half, with a well-taken double from left-winger Stephen Jones.
The former Welsh Youth international went over from close range in the 53rd minute, and then scored a spectacular second 13 minutes from time when he accelerated away from the London Irish defence following Emmet Farrell's clever pass.
Substitute out-half Phil Belgian kicked both home conversions.
Best believes his side will improve on their dominating performance. "It was quite pleasing, although we lost our way in the second half," said Best. "West came out very much fired out, which is what you would expect for a club at a new stadium.
"We looked as if we were still on the bus, but we had a purple patch at the end of the first half and early in the second, which took us clear."
Best and his assistant, Andy Keast, have assembled a new-look side at Sunbury and the head coach is pleased with how his new team is bedding down.
"We are still finding out about each other, so from that respect it has been quite pleasing, but there is still more to come."
