Lyon too strong for London Welsh

London Welsh have slipped to a 28-18 defeat at Lyon OU in the inaugural European Rugby Challenge Cup this afternoon.

The French side had the better of the early chances, with Ricky Januarie scoring the opening try of the match after just nine minutes, before Fabrice Estebanez and Franck Romanet put the home side almost 20 points up.

However, the visitors made a strong finish to the opening 40 minutes, with Chris Elder edging over in the corner before James Lewis found the line two minutes later, leaving the Aviva Premiership side just seven points adrift at half time.

The comeback continued for Welsh after the break when Tristan Roberts kicked his second penalty of the match, cutting Lyon's lead to just three points.

However, Lyon started to dominate possession again, and finally managed to stem the comeback when Paul Bonnefond found Waisale Sukanaveita for the hosts' fourth try of the afternoon, securing the win for the French club.