London Irish coach Toby Booth was happy to see his side grind out a 15-9 win over Harlequins in a poor match at the Madejski Stadium.
Quins boss points to penalty-count
London Irish coach Toby Booth admitted all that mattered to him was the win as the Exiles beat Harlequins 15-9 in a dour contest.
Booth said "I'm delighted with a win. Sure enough it wasn't a good game to watch but I'm really not bothered about that as it is all about picking up four points."
Quins coach Conor O'Shea said: "It wasn't a good game of rugby which was a pity for the spectators."
Quins were always second best in the scrums and lineouts and they frequently incurred the wrath of referee Sean Davey which cost them dear.
O'Shea admitted the penalty count against his side had been crucial to the outcome.
"The penalties killed us," he said. Our ill-discipline cost us and we will have to address it. We could have nicked it but effectively we were kicked out of the game."
Pressure
Booth, reflecting on Irish's dominance in the pack, said: "We gained the edge in both the set scrum and lineout and put the pressure on them in those areas.
"It was a solid enough platform and we seem to have got through the barren bit to now reward our fans."
Quins' Nick Evans broke his hand in training in the week and O'Shea confirmed that the outside half will be out for five to eight weeks.
He added: "We had a lot of difficulty in putting out a side and our injuries have stretched us to the absolute limit.
"Ugo Monye played today. He was up all night and spent two hours in bed here in a room at the Madejski. But he still made a massive contribution over the 80 minutes."