Guinness Premiership rugby round-up: Ryan Lamb adds the gloss as London Irish pack rules

By Luke Benedict Updated: 03:37 EST, 26 October 2009

Six minutes was all it took.

Leicester's Julian White, part-time farmer and England's go-to prop for next month's internationals, limped off with a torn hamstring before the stadium clock had reached double figures and at this rate Martin Johnson will have to rename his Elite squad the Availables.

With so many Test hopefuls on show, the England manager, who was at the Madejski Stadium along with more than 16,000 fans, could have been forgiven for watching this match with a peep cushion, but a pillow would have sufficed for a tiring encounter in which Ryan Lamb kicked London Irish to victory.

Leicester coach Richard Cockerill, the only man who must look at Johnson's injury list and envy its brevity, afterwards confirmed 36-year-old White doesn't have a 'fighting chance' of returning for November — England's plight turning to farce by the irony of losing an 18st 8lb prop to a speed injury associated more with Olympic sprinters than West Country farmers. 

For a fixture billed as a repeat of May's grand final, there was nothing grand or final about the game.

This season has plenty of twists and turns left in it and both sides were anything but majestic in possession.

In the end, London Irish's all-international pack had the better of Leicester's tight five and it was the early penalties conceded at the scrum that proved to be the Tigers' downfall — Lamb beating Leicester fly-half Jeremy Staunton by six penalties to four in the kicking duel.

Irish boss Toby Booth had nothing but praise for his pack, saying: 'The front row in particular were outstanding and we built our victory on their very solid foundations.

'Even though it was a tight, nitty-gritty affair, we fought and earned our right for the win.'

The quality of the game itself was usurped by its sub-plots. Most intriguing was the contest for England's No 7 shirt between the Exiles' Steffon Armitage and Leicester's Lewis Moody and both flankers were up for a battle, both on and off the ball.

Neither emerged as clear favourite but their markedly different styles means that selection or neglect may simply be a question of which of the two click in to Johnson's game plan the better. 

As for England's injury crisis, Booth added: 'The only advantage Johnson has over a club director of rugby is that if a player gets injured, he can go and get another one.'

But even Johnson is now running out fast.

Despite the absence of injured prop Andrew Sheridan, the Sale scrum was one strong aspect of their performance at Northampton where an eight-man shove engineered a second-half try for flanker James Gaskell.

The score brought Sale back into a match Northampton had dominated in building a 15-3 lead thanks to tries from prospective England full-back Ben Foden and captain Bruce Reihana, but Northampton rallied to run out 21-16 winners.

Bath captain Michael Claassens has urged his players to do some 'soul-searching' following the 27-16 defeat by Newcastle at the Rec.

He said: 'We have to look at ourselves and I have to look at myself as a captain. You can't lie to yourself in the mirror.'

Worcester are worried about the lack of props following a 26-22 home defeat by Harlequins.

Tongan Tevita Taumoepeau came off after dislocating two fingers and is a doubt for Sunday's match at Newcastle. He joins three other injured senior props on the sidelines.