London Irish held on to beat Gloucester 23-15 in the LV Cup at the Madejski Stadium this afternoon.

Tom Homer fired the home side ahead in the early stages, before Brian Blaney's try put them eight points up inside ten minutes.

Irish fullback Homer added a pair of penalties to his tally prior to the half to send the hosts in ahead by 14 unanswered points.

Gloucester's Mike Tindall led the comeback after the break, completing his penalty and then converting Ian Clark's try to close the gap to four points.

However, Homer hit back with another pair of penalties just before the hour to put them ten points in front.

Clark added his second score of the game within a matter of minutes to once again reduce the deficit, but Homer's late three sealed the Irish win.