NATIONAL ONE Leeds Carnegie...............35 LONDON WELSH...............10
The arrival of new signing Nic Strauss from Natal Sharks was the only good news for London Welsh this week.
The South African back row forward, and former Currie Cup winner, wasn't considered ready for action by coach Danny Wilson for the trip to Headingly on Saturday, where the Old Deer Park side suffered a heavy 35-10 defeat.
Wilson was quick to stress afterwards his side were only eight points behind prior to the sin-binning of hooker Sunia Koto Vuli with half an hour left, but judging by the capitulation which followed, 29-year-old Strauss can expect a call up sooner rather than later.
He said: "For 50 minutes we were in the game with the score at 11-3, but we have to learn against this standard of opposition that we cannot play any period of a match with 14 men.
"The sin-binning cost us heavily after which we disintegrated a bit and made a few poor decisions."
In the end, Ed Lewis-Pratt's late try proved Welsh's only real reward for their efforts, two lnjury time scores from the hosts ending any hopes of even a bonus point.
Nevertheless, Strauss, who can play either blindside flanker or No.8 is excited about his new challenge.
He said: "I was looking for an ambitious club that wants to take the next step and London Welsh ticked all the boxes.
"Danny Wilson is enthusiastic and he's got some really good ideas, so it was an easy choice to come here."
