After pressing the Exiles to the bitter end Leeds earned a bonus point for a close finish which may prove vital in the final reckoning. But it could have been more had their nerve and handling not let them down in the final desperate minutes of injury-time when a try and conversion would have landed them the full five points.
The Tykes' bonus point was effectively cancelled out when the bottom club Harlequins earned themselves one at Bristol for scoring four tries, which means they both join Bath on 28 points, separated only on wins and points difference.
In a pulsating encounter on a pitch which had fortunately dried out but looks distinctly tired Leeds did enough to earn the respect of their visitors, who move third but recognised they had been let off the hook.
"It's a travesty they are where they are in the league; they are too good a rugby team," said London Irish's technical coach Gary Gold. "They're well coached and their defence was fantastic, some of the best defence we've come up against this year. You can see why the Leicesters of this world come up here and struggle and don't get a victory.
"Today we've played against as good a team as we've played against all year and we feel lucky to come away with a win." Gold's director of rugby, Conor O'Shea, echoed him: "If they keep playing like that Leeds will stay up."
A massive effort by their forwards, spearheaded by the Murphy brothers at lock and the captain Mike Shelley meant that Leeds led by 11 points at the end of the first quarter thanks to tries from Scott Benton and Dan Scarbrough. Bram van Straaten added two conversions and a penalty to Barry Everitt's penalty and drop goal.
They weathered the sin-binning of Van Straaten for a high tackle on Geoff Appleford with the loss of only three points, only for Van Straaten's fellow Springbok Japie Mulder to gift a pass to Paul Sackey just before half-time. Sackey duly outpaced Steve Bachop and Sean Woof to cut the home side's lead to a single point at the break.
Some quick-fire play from the Exiles earned them what looked like a match-winning lead in the third quarter, with Everitt and the prop Mike Worsley both going over for close-range tries at the end of lengthy periods of patient recycling in the Leeds 22 but Scarbrough put the home side back in contention with his 10th try of the season after Bachop's fine delayed pass confused the Irish defence.
That set up a feverish finale. Leeds camped in the Irish 22 for the full six minutes of injury-time, with the Exiles down to 14 men after their flanker Eddie Halvey was sin-binned for interfering in a ruck. But Van Straaten chose poor options and knocked on twice, leaving Leeds reason to feel short-changed. So much effort, so little reward.
Leeds: Benson; Scarbrough, Mulder, Van Straaten, Woof; Bachop (Hall, 76), Benton; Shelley (capt), Rawlinson, Fullman (Feaunati, 65), C Murphy (Jones, 72), P Murphy, Mather, Hyde, Hogg (Kerr, 54).
Tries: Benton, Scarbrough 2. Cons: Van Straaten 3. Pen: Van Straaten.
Sin-bin: Van Straaten, 25; Fullman, 54.
London Irish: Horak; Sackey, Appleford, Venter, Bishop; Everitt, Martens (Edwards, 54); Worsley (Wheatley, 72), Kirke (Drotske, 19), Hardwick, Strudwick (capt), Williams, Gustard (Halvey, 52), Danaher, Sheasby.
Tries: Sackey, Everitt, Worsley. Con: Everitt. Pens: Everitt 3. Drop goal: Everitt 1.
Sin-bin: Halvey, 80.
Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire).
Attendance: 3,392.
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