Bath head coach Steve Meehan was in defiant mood after London Irish inflicted a crushing 16-0 defeat on his dispirited team at a rain-soaked Recreation Ground.

Without a home win in the Guinness Premiership this season - their only league victory was at Sale in September - the mood at the Rec was as dark and dismal as the weather.

But Meehan said: "I told the players there's too much talent in this dressing room for people to throw their hands up in the air and walk away.

"I reminded them that we're here to fight through this and it starts on Monday. But the players are working hard. I don't question their application one bit."

On his side's inability to impose themselves on London Irish in appalling weather, he said: "Irish came here with a very limited game plan and executed it very well. At times we attempted things that didn't suit the conditions and we got caught out."

After some fans booed the team off the field, Meehan appealed to the supporters to continue to back the team.

He said: "When the team is going through a rough trot we need everybody. It needs the supporters to get behind them and to support them; it needs the staff to pick them up, to keep working with them; and they need each other, to enthuse each other and to drive each other on.

"So obviously we are disappointed with people's reactions and they are disappointed with our performance but as a wider club, and I include the supporters in that, we need to dig deep here."

London Irish head coach Toby Booth could not have been happier, in contrast, especially with the performance of fly-half Ryan Lamb, scorer of all their points with a full house of a try, conversion, two penalties and a drop goal.

Booth said: "I thought we were pretty dominant, to be fair.

"It's a simple game - win the ball, keep the ball, use the ball.

"We managed to keep a lot of a ball on the front foot and to make a mess of theirs, especially at the lineout.

"Nick Kennedy was absolutely first class."