London Welsh face a massive test of character as they turn their attention back to the Greene King IPA Championship, says head coach Justin Burnell.

The Exiles slipped to a second successive defeat in the B&I Cup at Pontypridd on Saturday, and now welcome Cornish Pirates to the Kassam Stadium next Saturday.

“I think we’ll take a lot of positives out of these two defeats – but 6:30pm next Saturday at the Kassam is what it’s all about for me,” said Burnell.

“It is about the league, but let’s also give Ponty some respect. We did come here with a strong side and were beaten.

“What it’s hopefully done is make the team realise that we can’t just turn up and win every week, sometimes you’ve got to dig in a bit deeper.

“You’ve got to have that character and mentality to get your head up and work harder.

“I think we learnt a lot from today. I think they’ll be a lot of players having a little look at themselves and certainly looking over their shoulders.”