Geordan Murphy says victory over London Irish in midweek was “another step forward” for Leicester Tigers.

Coming into the game after two defeats since the season’s restart, Tigers rotated squad time again but welcomed back internationals including George Ford, Ben Youngs and Ellis Genge who sat out the home game against Bath on Saturday.

“We knew it was going to be difficult game, but it was a perfect night for playing rugby and I thought there was some fantastic rugby played,” said director of rugby Murphy at the final whistle of a 13-7 victory.

“It was a bit of a nail-biter in the end but you saw the desperation and that’s how much we wanted to win.

“I think it’s important to get a win, obviously, but it’s more important we learned some lessons and took another step forward tonight.”

Tigers lost Harry Wells to injury early on and then his replacement George Martin also took a knock, while the remaining second-rower Calum Green received a yellow card in the second half in the build-up to the Irish try.

Murphy also saw three tries denied by the television match official after wing David Williams had set the ball rolling with his first score for the club.

“We had some difficulties in our way,” added Murphy. “We had to really stick at it.

“There were some issues when we lost two second rows and then had another sin-binned, but I thought some breakdown work was particularly impressive.

“Irish have scored tries against the top sides and, defensively, we did a good job. It was disappointing to let them in for a try in the second half.”

Tigers are back in action on Sunday with the trip to Gloucester Rugby. Kick-off is at 4.30pm.