Questions have been raised recently over the future of Brian Smith and the pressure will rise again after another poor result at Cardiff Arms Park.

It is now six straight defeats in all competitions for Smith's side, who struggled throughout against a Cardiff side that will be disappointed they couldn't turn their second-half domination into a bigger margin of victory.

The day started brightly for Irish as they raced into a 7-0 lead after eight minutes as Geoff Cross charged down Gareth Anscombe's kick and reached the loose ball first to dive under the posts.

Shane Geraghty had already missed a penalty but struck the ball cleanly to put Irish 7-0 ahead.

But that was as good as it got for the visitors on another disappointing day for the Exiles.

The lead lasted a matter of minutes as Cardiff struck back immediately to draw level.

Anscombe made amends for his part in the opening try as his clever chip saw Richard Smith reach the ball and drive past Alex Lewington to cross the line.

The extras were added by Anscombe and it was all square with 13 minutes on the clock.

Irish were competing well and a period of sustained pressure saw Cardiff reduced to 14 men as Matthew Rees was penalised for lying on the ball.

The Exiles couldn't make the most of their numerical advantage though, with a missed Geraghty penalty all they had to show for their efforts.

It was a tight and scrappy first-half, full of mistakes from both sides and it ended 7-7, with the home side edging proceedings but two missed penalties by Anscombe ensuring it remained level.

The second-half was a completely different matter though as the hosts turned up the pressure and Irish failed to live with their Welsh opponents.

Jebb Sinclair was sent to the bin to leave Irish a man down and the Blues were camped in the Exiles' 22 as they looked to captalise.

Anscombe kicked a penalty in the 47th minute to edge Cardiff ahead but despite dominating, they couldn't take further advantage of the extra man.

Irish welcomed back Sinclair relatively unscathed and a rare attack was the visitors' eventual downfall at the Arms Park.

The Exiles lost the ball in the Cardiff 22 and never recovered as the hosts broke away to score their second try of the game.

Cory Allen broke clear down the left and was held up by Geraghty just metres from the line, but Lloyd Williams was on hand to pick up the ball and touch down.

Anscombe added the extras and the Blues had opened up a 10 point gap that Irish never looked like catching.

The Exiles looked devoid of confidence and rare attacks into the Cardiff half were soon snuffed out and turned over.

The Blues grabbed another try in the 76th minute when Kristian Dacey dived over from close range, with Anscombe again adding the extras to put the hosts 24-7 ahead.

A late Irish attack saw a penalty try awarded but it was a mere consolation as Irish were left to reflect on another below-par performance.

Cardiff Blues: Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees © , Adam Jones, Teofilo Paulo, Josh Turnbull; Macauley Cook, Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi; Lloyd Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Richard Smith, Gavin Evans, Cory Allen, Alex Cuthbert, Adam Thomas. Replacements: Craig Mitchell Kristian Dacey, Sam Hobbs, Rory Watts-Jones, Mana Vosawai, Lewis Jones, Gareth Davies, Dan Fish.

London Irish: Tom Court, David Paice, Geoff Cross, Sean Cox, Kieran Low, Jebb Sinclair, Blair Cowan, Ofisa Treviranus; Scott Steele, Chris Noakes, Topsy Ojo, Shane Geraghty, Eoin Griffin, Alex Lewington, Andrew Fenby. Replacements: Richard Palframan, Johnny Harris, Leo Halavatau, Dan Leo, Luke Narraway, Darren Allinson, Eamonn Sheridan, Tom Homer.