Dean Richards, Newcastle's director of rugby, had a king-sized rant after the match at the decision by the referee, Greg Garner, to show yellow cards five minutes before the end to his lock Josh Furno and the London Irish flanker Jebb Sinclair.
The game did not lack passion and London Irish's Samoan flanker Ofisa Treviranus was lucky not to be shown a yellow card for his left jab into the head of another Australian, the tighthead prop Salesi Ma'afu, and O'Connor continued to look dangerous.
Treviso's Edoardo Gori replaces Fabio Semenzato at scrum-half while Simone Favaro drops to the bench with the flanker Robert Barbieri taking his place in the starting side.
After all the prodigious work of the back-rows – Justin Tipuric could be added to the starting six from Wales-Ireland for impact and sheer cussed indefatigability and Courtney Lawes did his normal interpretation of a flanker playing in the wrong row – the title will be decided by the somehow unglamorous calculation of points difference.
Five minutes from time two replacements, Irish's Canadian flanker Jebb Sinclair and Newcastle's Italian international lock Josh Furno were sent to the sin-bin after a clash on the home 22. Dean Richards, the Newcastle director of rugby, claimed Furno's dismissal was a "disgrace" as Sinclair had punched him.
7 BLAIR COWAN 7/10 The London Irish flanker has given away a hatful of penalties in the Championship but foraged well and played important part in Bennett's try.
The game swung one way and then another and not until the replacement flanker Marlie Packer was driven over after a drive by the pack on the hour was there daylight between the sides.
England's full-back Emily Scarratt was given the player of the match award but it could have been given to the talismanic flanker Maggie Alphonsi, one of seven changes made by the coach Gary Street from the side that demolished Scotland in Aberdeen earlier this month.
But Toby Faletau, the captain Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric were outstanding in the back row, giving Pablo Matera, the young Argentina flanker of whom much is expected when he settles in at Leicester, an uncomfortable afternoon.
Robshaw, heavily criticised during the World Cup, will be feeling happier now – partly because he is playing regularly in his natural position of blind-side flanker after his testing shift on the opposite side of the back row, and partly because Jones gave him a big mention in dispatches.
Never less than willing and always up for a scrap, they have a flanker in the extravagantly-named Chauncey O'Toole whose skill levels are up there with the best.
