LONDON Irish lock Jerry Sexton has warned London Irish they will have to be on top of their game to topple Jersey in their British & Irish Cup semi-final on Sunday (2pm).

Exiles were beaten by the same opponents as they lost their perfect Greene King IPA Championship record in their 18th game last Saturday, slipping to a 15-11 reverse at St Peter.

And 24-year-old Sexton is urging his teammates to exact revenge at the earliest opportunity as they look to move a step nearer to their first significant silverware since the Powergen Cup triumph in 2002.

He said: “Jersey are a big physical side, they are well coached and they make few mistakes.

“The boys know they need to front up and win collisions or we will struggle against them.

“We probably didn’t show up and play our best rugby on Saturday, so we are itching to get out there and put it right this week.”

Despite losing their unbeaten league record, Exiles have still won 23 of their 25 games this season, and Sexton said they want to return to winning ways in front of their home fans – with more than 1,000 travelling to the Channel Islands last weekend.

He admitted: “It’s always game by game, we are performance driven and we know if we do the basics well then results will take care of themselves.

“The fans have been brilliant this year and we’ve heard them cheering us on all over the country and at home especially.

“When you’re tired or your back is against the wall it helps you so much and all of us in the squad are grateful for the support we receive. We want to do everyone proud on Sunday.”