LONDON Irish suffered a narrow 17-16 defeat in their first LV= Cup game at home to Leicester Tigers, after they dominated possession and territory for large parts of the contest.
The visitors took an early lead through the boot of Tommy Bell after two minutes and then Miles Benjamin added a converted try to make it 10-0.
By half-time, the Exiles were on the scoreboard, thanks to a Myles Dorrian penalty and the same kicker narrowed the lead to just one point just after the hour mark, thanks to two more penalties.
The spirited Exiles kept playing and got their reward four minutes from time, as Guy Armitage scored and Dorrian added the extras to set up a tense finale.
Irish went looking for the win by running the ball from well inside their own 22, but Leicester's defence forced a turnover to win the game.
The Exiles have their next LV= Cup game on Sunday, when they travel to Adams Park to face Wasps (kick-off 2pm).
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