London Irish captain Matt Rogerson reckons his side are in for a big challenge when they travel to Devon to take on Exeter Chiefs this weekend.

The Exiles are without a win from their opening five Premiership games, having lost three and remarkably drawn two.

Against Gloucester last time out, Declan Kidney’s men led at half-time 17-6 before a fightback from the Cherry and Whites saw Irish trailing on the hour mark 25-20.

While a Rogerson try with under 15 minutes left drew them level, two missed kicks, a conversion effort and a late drop goal from fly-half Paddy Jackson, meant the spoils were shared, leaving Irish winless through five rounds of Premiership action.

“It’s just fine margins and we keep saying it week to week,” said Rogerson in the wake of the draw.

“Against Gloucester, I really wanted a win, for the fans, for this group of lads, for the coaches who are working hard too.

“I think with the way we played against Gloucester for the most part we deserved it. It comes down to fine margins.

“Although we drew, it does feel like a loss and I know everyone’s hurting a bit for that, especially me.”

While London Irish have endured a difficult start to the new campaign, things have not quite been the same down in Devon for Exeter Chiefs.

The Premiership powerhouses have rallied following defeats in the opening two rounds to Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints with three wins on the bounce bolstered by some impressive performances from star man Sam Simmonds.

And captain Rogerson predicts Exeter will pose a difficult challenge for Irish who are looking to kickstart their Premiership season.

“We’ve got a couple of points against Gloucester on the table,” said Rogerson in the wake of the Premiership draw.

“We wanted more but it all counts.

“We’ll go back to the process we’ve been doing week in and week out.

“That’s all you can do.

“I said to the boys after Gloucester, go back to the process. We’ll learn what we did wrong, what we can improve on, what we did well and we keep doing what we’re doing well.

“We’ve got a big test ahead with Exeter away who we know are going to be a tough challenge down there.”