LONDON IRISH kept their hopes alive of overtaking Bristol in the final Courage League One table with this win over relegated West Hartlepool, but Willie Anderson's men looked a tired side in the second half.

If they continue to field a full-strength side in their remaining two league games, they may well suffer when it comes to the two-match play-off at the end of the season, by which time they will have played 11 games in five weeks.

Anderson would certainly be happy with his side's first-half performance. Playing downwind, they effectively clinched the game in the first 20 minutes with four tries against a moderate home defence.

The first two - from hooker Tony Redmond and back-row forward Ken O'Connell - underlined Irish's forward power, .but their pack tired towards the end of the game and this is where Anderson must be concerned.

Niall Woods kicked a penalty following those early tries, before he and David Humphreys both touched down within a minute.

One of those tries was converted by Woods to put Irish 25-3 ahead with a quarter of the game to go.