Lyon OU prove too strong for London Welsh

London Welsh remain without a win this season having suffered a 17-12 defeat at the hands of Lyon OU at the Kassam Stadium this afternoon.

Two tries inside the opening 12 minutes set the tone as the visitors took early control, although it proved to be in vain as their Challenge Cup Pool Four fate had already been secured.

Thibaut Regard was the first to cross over, collecting a wicked bounce from a kick through to expose the opposition, before Lachie Munro touched down to create some breathing space for Lyon.

That proved to be the end of the scoring in the first half, and it took until the hour mark before the French outfit could add to their advantage through Damien Fitzpatrick's try, which came about after the hooker showed smart footwork to burst away.

Home supporters did have something to cheer about when Rob Lewis crashed over 10 minutes from time, ensuring that Irish would not go two European games in a row without scoring a try, and Koree Britton reduced the arrears a little further when he raced over in the corner.

Irish could not salvage anything more from the game, though, as Lyon held out to take the points, which were not enough to secure them a place in the next round due to results elsewhere this weekend.