Graham McKechnie BBC Radio Berkshire

Smith has had three seasons as director of rugby

Brian Smith's reign as director of rugby of London Irish is at an end as he heads off to join the England coaching staff.

Under Smith, Irish went from relegation candidates to the Premiership play-offs and a Heineken Cup semi-final.

He was only in charge for three seasons but they brought many memorable occasions.

BBC Radio Berkshire's rugby reporter Graham McKechnie picks his favourite five matches from Smith's Exiles.

Paul Franze returned to rugby league later in the year

The turning point of Smith's early days as director of rugby. Irish had a mixed start to their Premiership campaign but were unbeaten in the European Challenge Cup when they travelled to Agen.

It was a bad-tempered match in front of a hostile crowd with some indifferent refereeing, and Irish trailed by nine points with just over two minutes remaining.

Barry Everitt kicked a penalty to bring Irish within a converted try. From the restart Irish regained possession, moved forward down the left and up towards the 22.

606: DEBATE All the best to you Brian, thanks for the memories, and here's hoping you can get the English backline playing the sort of rugby that has made LI a pleasure to watch Mad_for_Chelsea

A further try from Delon Armitage at the death denied the shocked Frenchmen even a bonus point.

Catt's try just after the break put Irish ahead at Adams Park

London Irish put in a stunning performance against the reigning Premiership champions, running in nine tries out of 14 in the match.

Dominic Feau'nati scored the first try in the second minute, but Wasps seemed to take control, moving into a 19-10 lead after 12 minutes.

Riki Flutey, Sailosi Tagicakibau and Bob Casey all scored to give Irish a 29-19 lead, but by half-time the match was level at 29-29.

With half an hour remaining, Irish finally took control of the game, firstly with Mike Catt collecting a Flutey chip to score under the posts, before a Delon Armitage interception pulled them clear.

Topsy Ojo and Flutey score late tries to round off an extraordinary victory.

Bob Casey and Topsy Ojo show their disappointment

The Exiles came within a Barry Everitt penalty of clinching only their second-ever piece of silverware at the end of Smith's first season in charge.

Gloucester looked certain to win the European Challenge Cup final when they led Irish at the Stoop by 12 points with quarter of an hour remaining.

But Irish did not give in and crossed the Gloucester line twice, through Olivier Magne and Robbie Russell, to take the match into extra time at 31-31.

An Everitt penalty put Irish ahead, but Gloucester hit back with a James Forrester try.

In the dying minutes, a drop-goal and a penalty attempt from Everitt just drifted wide and Gloucester held on to break Irish hearts.

Number 8 Phil Murphy was man-of-the-match against Leicester

Brian Smith's young team showed they were not just about scoring tries as they put in a remarkable defensive effort to beat Leicester on Boxing Day at the Madejski Stadium.

Leicester dominated the match in terms of territory and possession, but Irish took the few chances that came their way and held on to the lead.

Rising star Shane Geraghty was sent over by a Delon Armitage try and Justin Bishop set up the young flyer on the wing, Topsy Ojo.

Tigers managed to cross the Irish try-line four times in total, but somehow the Exiles held on for a deserved win which Smith hailed as "gutsy" and "courageous".

Danaher scored the game's only try in the first half

Irish reached their first ever semi-final of the Heineken Cup thanks to a controlled performance against Perpignan at the Madejski Stadium.

Declan Danaher scored the only try of the match from Mike Catt's cross-field kick.

Australian full-back Peter Hewat was man-of-the-match, kicking five penalties in a superb individual display.

Irish dominated all areas of the game, with Nick Kennedy and Bob Casey again imperious in the line-out.

While not as spectacular as some of the other key wins in Brian Smith's reign, Irish showed new levels of maturity and control, making the strong Catalan team look distinctly ordinary.