LONDON Irish forwards coach George Skivington says the club are keen to win the inaugural edition of the Championship Cup, writes Richard Ashton.

Exiles produced their best performance of the season in hammering Cornish Pirates 64-17 at Madejski Stadium on Sunday, their second Pool Three victory in a row.

Having beaten Hartpury 35-7 in their opening game, Declan Kidney's men could take a big step towards the knock-out stages with victory at home to second-placed Bedford on Sunday.

And despite rotating their squad, Skivington told the Chronicle: "We're taking the competition seriously and we want to win it.

We're getting people out on the pitch to see what they can do and it's up to them to put their hand up to play in the league and in the knock-out stages of this."

Turning his attentions to Sunday's visitors, Skivington warned his side they will have to be on their game.

He commented: "Bedford pushed us close here last time (29-20 in the Championship) and there were a few things which went against us. They're a quality outfit, particularly up front in the pack with their mauls and scrum."

Meanwhile, scrum-half Scott Steele, who made his 100th appearance for the club and his first home start of the season against Pirates, added: "It will be another tough game.

"We're looking to step on each week and we felt the performance (against Cornish Pirates) was better, but not everything was right so we'll look to work on that."