Fullarton and Titterrell strike late to sink Exiles

Two last-gasp tries handed Sale Sharks a flattering 23-11 victory at London Irish in the Zurich Premiership yesterday.

Despite seven places separating the two sides in the league table, London Irish piled the pressure on second-placed Sale for most of the game. With eight minutes left the game was finely poised at 11-11 but the visitors kept their composure to steal victory with tries by Iain Fullarton and Andy Titterrell.

"I'm very pleased ," said the Sharks' coach, Jim Mallinder, whose side are eight points behind the leaders, Gloucester. "I always knew this was going to be a hard-fought game but we kept our nerve in the final 15 to 20 minutes and scored a crucial try when it was 11-11."

London Irish's managing director, Conor O'Shea, was not bitter, saying the better side triumphed on the day.

"They deserved to win the game," he said. "I can see why they are second in the table. They have the best back line bar none in the Zurich Premiership."