A hat-trick of tries from Ofisa Treviranus has ensured that London Irish will finish top of Pool One in the European Challenge Cup, courtesy of a 34-6 win over Rovigo this afternoon.
The contest got off to a bad start for the visitors, as Halani Aulika was shown a yellow card following a high tackle, allowing Stefan Basson to kick over for an early lead.
Rovigo, who came into this game on the back of a crushing defeat at the hands of Cardiff Blues last time out, were unable to hold on to their advantage for too long, however, as Treviranus found enough space around the fringes to sprint under the posts and level things up with his first of the match.
Shane Geraghty made no mistake with the conversion, but the pool's bottom side salvaged some hope on the half-hour mark when Basson added his second pen of the afternoon.
The half looked to be heading towards a tight finish, although Geraghty split the sticks with the last action of the opening 40 minutes to give the Exiles some breathing space once more.
A fiery second half saw both sides reduced a man as first George Skivington was given his marching orders, before Basson's dismissal saw the teams evened up for the time being at least.
It was Irish who capitalised, though, adding a second try when James Short darted over in the corner, and that sparked a frenetic 10 minutes or so for the visiting side.
Treviranus was in again shortly after for his second of the afternoon, while try number four was added by Topsy Ojo to see Brian Smith's men well and truly take control of things.
Then, with just eight minutes remaining, Samoan flanker Treviranus crossed the whitewash to complete the scoring for a dominant Irish side, who will now have the advantage of playing at home in the quarter-finals of the showpiece competition.
Daniel Lewis
