"It was really important, we had to win this game. All the players knew that - it adds pressure but it was all about coming into the Brive game with a strong focus and playing the game we wanted," he said.

"Overall I was very pleased with the performance, we dominated possession and territory for large parts of the game.

"I thought our back row was magnificent and the whole pack of forwards put in a huge performance; they had to work hard and created a high tempo in the game.

"The set piece was massive and we knew that was one area we had to manage and we did it well - we had a very confident scrum.

"It is the start we wanted and we are pleased with it. We know that London Irish is altogether a different challenge - it's another step up. I have been up to see them play at home and they play a great brand of rugby, they have some talented individual players who know exactly what they are doing.

"But the pressure will be on them at home, and we can go there with the confidence boost of a win under our belts."

Davies said his team had shown great grit to achieve the win.

"There may have been a few nerves, but the good thing is that it didn't stop us playing and if anything we over played a little at times. In the last three or four games we've been in positions where we could have and should have won, so it was positive to see us nail an important win this time - when the pressure was on.

"It's games like these where we see the investment in our younger talent reap rewards. These guys are improving with each game and will be right up there."