Toby Booth pleased by London Irish reaction to defeat

The Exiles failed to gain a bonus point for the first time since Booth's arrival

London Irish head coach Toby Booth says his players' reaction to Sunday's defeat to Bath has been encouraging.

The Exiles lost 22-35 to Bath in the Premiership, but will have Paul Hodgson and Steffon Armitage back from England duties this weekend at Newcastle.

Booth told BBC Berkshire: "We've had a very positive reaction, with a lot of people going the extra mile wherever they can to get us back on track.

"It's simple. You ask for honesty and that's one of our trademarks."

But Booth admitted that having analysed the video of the defeat, there are few positives.

"It still looks pretty poor. We're obviously very disappointed with what we produced at the weekend, in particular the middle part of the first-half when we gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

"But I'm very pleased with the response at half-time and with the performances of Tom Homer and Jamie Gibson, which were very encouraging.

"Tom's a freakish individual in temperament as well as skill. If you're a goalkicker, that's a very good thing to have - he gives the boys a lot of confidence.

"He's thrown down the gauntlet to the others - if you want to kick in this team you have to get past me - that's the impishness of youth."

Booth added that having Hodgson and Armitage back would act as a boost ahead of the trip to Newcastle.

"They've enjoyed coming back. It's obviously a pressurised environment, but as Steffon put it, it's nice to be wearing some comfortable shoes again. It's nice to have them back around the place and it gives everyone a lift.

"When people are under massive pressure, they become insular and withdrawn. Paul Hodgson is a person who will never withdraw, has the ultimate fighting spirit and has a very clear head about how things should be done.

"It was a crazy fifteen minutes that made it difficult for us and in that situation you want your leaders to come to the front and say this is what we want.

"From that point-of-view, he's as important as a leader as he is a player."