NICK Kennedy hailed the leadership qualities of London Irish captain David Paice in their 29-7 victory at Nottingham Rugby.

Scott Steele, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Max Northcote-Green and Fergus Mulchrone all scored tries in the bonus-point victory which maintained Irish's 100% start and kept them top of the Greene King IPA Championship table.

Exiles dominated Nottingham up front and always had the edge in the scum as they eased to a fifth straight league win.

Paice, who took over the captain's armband from the injured Luke Narraway, was particularly impressive for the visitors and director of rugby Kennedy singled out the 32-year-old hooker for special praise.

“I thought our maul defence was dominant and the scrum was fantastic led by David Paice,” declared Kennedy. “He had a cracking game and really led from the front.

“We played the conditions well as it was quite a wet pitch and the forwards really rolled up their sleeves and just got on with it.”

A large contingent of Exiles fans made the journey to Nottingham's Lady Bay ground on Friday night, and Kennedy admitted their support made a big difference.

“All of the players wanted to stay behind after the game to thank our supporters for making the trip,” added Kennedy.

“Our supporters were on all four corners of the ground and it felt like a home game for us so they were brilliant.”

In addition to Paice, 22-year-old Northcote-Green also stood out for the visitors, crossing for their third try in the game to set up the bonus point victory.

The summer signing from Bath stated modestly: “I just found myself in a great position to score on the back of some excellent play from Scott [Steele] and it was easy for me to finish things off.

“We’ve got to keep this momentum up after winning our first five games and London Welsh will be a big test for us next week – so far so good.”

Irish entertain London Welsh at Madejski Stadium this Saturday (3pm ko).