Former Esher head coach Ollie Smith is relishing the chance of a Premiership return with London Welsh.

The 31-year-old has been assisting exiles head coach Justin Burnell and assistant coach Gordon Ross on a trial basis since quitting Molesey Road in the summer.

Smith, who was forced to give up playing the game after suffering a serious knee injury while at Harlequins, led Esher to a second place National Division One finish last season.

“To get the opportunity to come to London Welsh and work with a team that’s really striving to get back into the Premiership is very exciting,” said Smith.

“It’s great to be able to have players day in, day out, and be able to drag them to one side for a chat. I like the fact that I can sit down and work with individuals, and that’s a real plus to being in a full-time environment.

“I’m still very new to coaching, but I’ve got a lot of rugby knowledge and experience.”

Ollie Stedman (two), Billy Moss, Josh Watkins and a penalty try were on the scoresheet as London Welsh won 33-7 at Edinburgh Academical on Saturday.

Fly-half Will Robinson kicked four conversions to add to the 23 points he slotted last week as Welsh gave Burnell a selection headache ahead of tomorrow’s derby clash with London Scottish.