Everitt Kicks London Irish Into Final

A faultless display of place kicking from Barry Everitt helped London Irish to a dramatic 32-27 victory over Harlequins in the Powergen semi-final.

11/03/02.Everitt celebrating his 26th birthday, was in superb form and his tally totalled 22 points, six penalties and two conversions, the final brace of penalties in the closing minutes after Harlequins had snatched the lead.

In a dramatic finish, Paul Burke added the points to a Tony Diprose try to edge Harlequins 27-26 ahead. However, Everitt tagged on two penalties to send London Irish back to Twickenham for the first time since 1980.

It was a remarkable game in that London irish led 26 nil at one stage and then 26-10 at half time. Harlequins continued to eat away at the lead and it seemed they had completed a remarkable come-back when Ireland A International Burke converted his side’s third try.

But not for the first time this season, Everitt combined deadly accuracy with nerves of steel to earn his side a marvellous victory