LONDON Irish are assured of Premiership safety after beating Newcastle Falcons 40-12 at the Madejski Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Andrew Fenby ran in a first-half hat-trick as the Exiles ran riot in the opening 40 minutes. The winger opened the scoring from the back of a ruck after just four minutes and while Rory Clegg pulled three points back with a penalty, Irish were well on top.

Fergus Mulchrone was next to cross the line after Tomas O’Leary charged down a kick and Fenby then ran in for his second, though Clegg kept his side in the game with three further penalties, making it 19-12.

Eamonn Sheridan forced his way over from close range to kick-start an Irish purple patch in the final six minutes of the half, with Fenby completing his hat-trick and Gerard Ellis also touching down before the break.

Leading 40-12 at half-time, the Exiles shut the game down after the break and there was no further scoring.

The result leaves Irish 10th in the table, but they now cannot be caught by bottom side Worcester. Next up for the Exiles is a trip to Northampton Saints on Sunday (kick-off 2pm).