Scottish put in a stirring second half performance to stop Irish running away with this game, but only managed a single try despite having most of the play after the interval. London Irish Wanderers 46 – 7 London Scottish Highlanders.

The first half was a forgettable experience from a Scottish viewpoint, deteriorating after a steady start leaving Irish sufficient space to run in three tries in the last seven minutes.

Thankfully it was a different determined Scottish after the break, taking the game to Irish and soon being rewarded when Canning danced through several attempted tackles to score. Scottish continued to press, but Irish absorbed the pressure and Scottish lacked the composure to finish off several good chances. It was particularly galling after five minutes of continuous Scottish possession in the Irish 22 to see a fly hack going straight into the arms of the Irish winger who ran the length of the pitch to score. Irish finished off with a good score in the corner to claim the second half on points if not on pressure.

Team: 15 Kit MacInnes-Manby; 14 Pete Bremner, 13 Mark Canning, 12 Gruffudd Jones, 11 Aaron Perrin; 10 Adam Webber, 9 Josh Graham; 8 Stuart May, 7 Fraser Millar, 6 Eliot Fallon; 5 Alasdair Reid, 4 Denis Gibson; 3 Paul Webster, 2 Shane Logan, 1 Will Bayliss-Brown.

Replacements: Corne du Rand, Carlo Castaldo, Babs.

Try: Canning; Conversion: Webber.

Scoring sequence: 3-0 (13 mins), 10-0 (18), 15-0 (26), 20-0 (33), 27-0 (37), 34-0 (40); 34-7 (43), 41-7 (72), 46-7 (80).

Conditions: Sharp shower at start, then clearing. Pitch OK.