On a hideous afternoon weather-wise, the hosts played some of the better rugby, but were ultimately outgunned by a dominant Tigers pack.

A breathless start to the game saw the Exiles churn their way through the phases after winning the ball in Leicester territory, but they were fortunate that Shane Geraghty was able to haul down Miles Benjamin after they turned over the ball.

A preview of what was to come arrived when Leicester took a fifth-minute lead courtesy of a penalty at scrum time, with Freddie Burns bisecting the uprights with a fine 40 metre strike.

The fly half missed an easier chance three minutes later after his side earned another shot at goal from the set piece, but he made amends by slotting a sweet drop goal to make it 6-0.

Tom Guest made a half break for the hosts shortly after, but Leicester could have gone further ahead when centre Jack Roberts knocked a bouncing ball on when in space on the Irish 22.

However they did go 9-0 ahead early in the second quarter when Burns kicked another penalty – again awarded at the scrum – before Irish got on the board courtesy of a Geraghty kick after Tigers were pinged at a line-out.

Alex Lewington made a fine incision only to knock on in the wet conditions before a flash point arrived six minutes prior to the break. Tigers prop Logovi'i Mulipola crashed into a ruck, sparking a minor scuffle among players from both sides.

Leicester's complete dominance at the scrum then resulted in Geoff Cross being sin-binned, but Burns missed another straightforward penalty to leave the score 9-3. The former England man then saw another effort fall just short on the stroke of half time.

With the incessant rain showing no sign of stopping, Irish started the second half brightly, and came within inches of the line before David Paice was penalised for a double movement.

Geraghty did cutt the gap to three points on 51 minutes after the visitors went off their feet at a ruck, but the home side gave away a needless penalty of their own for not releasing shortly after.

Substitute David Mele – on for the injured Burns – added the points.

In farcical scenes midway through the half, a solitary scrum took five minutes to complete, but Irish had another golden opportunity to score a try with 10 minutes remaining, only to be called for not releasing just five metres shy of the Leicester line.

The Exiles continued to display some good handling skills, but their final chance evaporated when another monster Leicester scrum won them a penalty inside their own 22.

And the visitors made no mistake in closing the game out, leaving Exiles with a solitary bonus point for their efforts.

London Irish travel to rock bottom neighbours London Welsh next Saturday.

London Irish: Fenby; Ojo, Sheridan, Fowlie, Lewington; Geraghty, Steele; Court, Paice, Cross, Skivington (capt), Sinclair, Treviranus, Gilsenan, Guest.

Replacements: Stevens, Parr, Halavatau, Rouse, Narraway, Allinson, Noakes, Lewington.

Leicester Tigers: Tait; Goneva, Catchpole, Roberts, Benjamin; Burns, Harrison; Ayerza, Youngs, Mulipola, De Chaves, Kitchener, Croft, Gibson, Crane (capt).

Replacements: Briggs, Rizzo, Balmain, Whetton, Pearce, Mele, Bai, Morris.

Attendance: 8,404.