Irish stay alive and leave Pearce to ponder future

London Irish 41 Bristol 21

The Irish are alive, alive-oh in the Premiership for next season. Bristol, however, are dead men walking, destination unknown. To National League One, or some worse fate, such as possible extinction? One of the few who might have some idea of the answer, their owner Malcolm Pearce, was at the Madejski Stadium, but keeping quiet.

In every other respect, there was bedlam. Irish, with a measly one bonus point for tries scored previously this year, breached the Bristol line five times and were rampant victors. At the end, with Bath still playing at The Rec but safe, there were the most contrasting emotions. To the inevitable strains of "Fields of Athenry", Ryan Strudwick's cosmopolitan band in bottle-green jerseys partied with the greater part of a noisy 12,000 crowd. For those in blue and white there was only misery, heavily compounded by the uncertainty over Bristol's future. A lady wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with the Shoguns' logo wept into her handkerchief. One wonders whether she was crying for Pearce, the Bath fan who staved off Bristolian oblivion with his cash five years ago but of late has preached nothing but uncertainty.

What of the players? Peter Thorburn, having seen his side relegated on points difference – mergers and other machinations with Rotherham notwithstanding – cut a very sad figure at the bitter end of his first and possibly last season with Bristol. The New Zealander painted a desperate picture of the losers' dressing room. "You have a guy like Craig Short, who scored our two tries, with blood running down his face, and has lived in and played for Bristol all his life. They're down, obviously. How long the feeling lasts, I don't know."

Thorburn revealed that some businessmen in Bristol had talked to him in the past few days, with a view to keeping the club going. Pearce, if he pursues the Bath merger, could scupper that. Beyond the bare statistics that Bristol finished 12th out of 12, confusion reigns.

Not even the tearful could have complained about the quality of the match. Bristol, having completed a home and away league double over Bath last week, continued in the same vein to begin with. They led 10-0 after 14 minutes, following a penalty by Shane Drahm, and the Australian full-back's conversion of Short's try at the left corner.

But if Drahm kicked like a dream throughout so did his counterpart, Mark Mapletoft. And whereas Irish's ultra-committed tackling was matched by an ability to move through the phases, and explore the wide channels, Bristol were flawed in the latter departments. Their Argentine axis at half-back had mixed fortunes. Agustin Pichot, all fight and flair, provided wonderful service, despite playing behind an injury-ravaged pack twice torn apart at the scrum. Felipe Contepomi too often got tied in to rucks, submerged by the snarling Irish back row of Chris Sheasby, Declan Danaher and Kieron Dawson.

Naka Drotske burst through for Irish's first try, after Bristol lost a scrum on their put-in, and the impressive Rob Hoadley broke the Bristol cover. Mapletoft converted, on his way to passing 1,000 career league points, and a perfect seven kicks out of seven yesterday. Drahm potted a penalty for a high tackle, but Hoadley justified Michael Horak's risky tap-and-go with an exultant try at the posts, and Irish never looked back.

At half-time, Bristol were in bottom position, trailing 24-13 to a Geoff Appleford try made by Paul Sackey's neat pass out of Andrew Higgins's tackle. There was brief hope of Drahm averting a crisis – a 50- metre penalty sailing over in the 53rd minute – but Mapletoft restored the 11-point gap then Sackey hacked his way through for the bonus point score. Horak finished it with an arcing run into hectares of space, a pointed index finger raised in triumph, and Short's late response was very short on significance.

Brendan Venter will return home to his medical practice in South Africa knowing his legacy was not relegation.

Bristol do not even know what is happening tomorrow.

London Irish: M Horak (E Thrower, 82); P Sackey, G Appleford, R Hoadley (B Everitt, 56), K Barrett; M Mapletoft, H Martens; M Worsley (N Hatley, 45), N Drotske (A Flavin, 80), R Hardwick (S Halford, 45), R Strudwick (capt), B Casey (K Roche, 72), D Danaher, C Sheasby, K Dawson.

Bristol: S Drahm; D Rees, A Higgins, D Gibson (capt), P Christophers; F Contepomi, A Pichot (P Hodgson, 80); A Sheridan, P Johnstone (S Nelson, 52), E Bergamaschi (R Skuse, 47), S Morgan, A Brown, C Short, R Oakley, M Lipman.

Referee: T Spreadbury (Somerset).