London Welsh fly half Gordon Ross has called on his side to do themselves justice in their remaining two Aviva Premiership matches, claiming the occasion got the better of them last time out.

The Exiles went into last weekend’s clash with Northampton Saints seeking the victory that would keep their alive hopes of avoiding the drop. But defeat means that Welsh are now assured of finishing the season in bottom place.

After a difficult few months on and off the pitch, 35-year-old Ross, who makes his 100th Premiership appearance today, has called on the Exiles to end their season on a high.

“It has obviously been a difficult week and we as players have been hurting,” he said.

“But it would be terrible if we didn't do ourselves justice for the last two matches after what we have achieved so far this season.

“We let the occasion get the better of us against Northampton, but we can’t let that happen again.

“I think we tried to play too attacking against Saints rather than try and do the simple things, but it was a difficult match to play in.

“As one of the senior players I try to lead by example, but I do think I got caught up in the occasion and the emotion of the day and I was disappointed with my performance.

“London Irish have been in some really good form in the last few months, especially at home so we know they will be very tough opposition.

“But we have to lift ourselves after a difficult week. It will be a tough challenge, both mentally and physically, but it’s up to us to prove in our last two matches that we belonged in the Premiership.”

Welsh’s plight has not been helped by issues off the field, but on the pitch things have been bleak of late.

They picked up 19 points from their first ten matches, but only four from their following ten, and Ross admits that is the key reason they are at the foot of the table.

“We’ve been on a bad run and we’ve lost a few matches by a point here or a point there,” he said.

“And those are the margins in the Premiership. Maybe last season or the season before we would have got away with it, but you can’t at the top level.”