Brian Smith felt London Irish could take some positives from their defeat in Toulouse.
London Irish coach Brian Smith acknowledged the scale of the task facing his team in Heineken Cup Pool Five after they lost 37-17 at Toulouse.The Exiles are rock-bottom having also lost their opening game against Llanelli Scarlets.
Smith admits it is now a 'tough ask' to qualify for the quarter-finals, but was heartened by some aspects of their display in France.
"I thought it was a courageous effort from our boys, but Toulouse showed their real class and pushed us to the limits," he said.
"We knew that we needed a defensive improvement today, and I thought we did that, although it is now a tough ask for us to get to the quarter-finals.
"I thought it was a hell of a game. We knew that if we were timid coming down here then it would only be a matter of time before Toulouse cut loose."
Smith suffered a triple injury blow during the trip with fly-half Riki Flutey straining his groin during kicking practice the day before the match.
Flutey's fellow number 10 Barry Everitt was forced off at half-time with a leg injury, while captain Mike Catt, another option at stand-off, also left the game due to a calf muscle injury that has troubled him for some time.
Smith revealed: "Mike's injury is a recurring calf muscle injury.
"It happened at Newcastle last month, and then again when we went to Sale.
"Having lost Barry Everitt as well, it meant we had to play with two scrum-halves, but I thought they made a good fist of it."
