Phil Greening got the response he was looking for as London Welsh bounced back from their defeat at Cornish Pirates to open their home campaign with a bonus-point victory over Birmingham & Solihull.

The London Welsh head coach had asked for a performance from his players after last weekends below-par display and he was not to be left disappointed, although the Dragons had to wait until the last play of the game for Aled Thomas to secure the four-try bonus point.

Three first half penalties from Simon Hunt had earlier kept the Bees in touch, in reply to tries for Welsh from Liam Gibson and Marc Breeze, and Welsh could only add two Gordon Ross penalties either side of the break with the Bees down to 14-men.

A third Ross penalty extended the Welsh lead to 21-9 before Josh Drauniniu finished off a sweeping move by the home side to make the points safe. All that remained was whether Welsh could add the bonus-point try, which they did, albeit agonisingly late, as Thomas dived over under the posts.

After two matches on the road, it was Welsh’s first chance to run out before their home support and lay down a marker for the season ahead at Old Deer Park.

It was the visitors who made the brighter start, though, as Welsh fumbled the kick off and Will Lawson made a good line break.

However, the Welsh defence stood up to its first examination, albeit at the expense of a Hunt penalty, while subsequent visits into the Bees 22 only brought frustration as the home side coughed up a penalty and a free kick.

Both sides were showing a real intent to throw the ball around and having stretched Birmingham & Solihull down their right flank, Welsh switched the play and captain Jonathan Mills provided the scoring pass for Gibson to force his way over.

Ross was unlucky to see his conversion attempt strike the right hand upright.

The Bees had clearly arrived with a determination to keep the ball in hand and their patience was rewarded when Welsh infringed after a multitude of phases, and Hunt stepped up to nudge the visitors back in front. It was a lead they would not hold for long.

Ross took Welsh deep into the Bees 22 after his forwards had won a penalty at a scrum and on loan Ospeys hooker Breeze was driven over by his pack to put the home side back in front.

This time Ross had no trouble finding the centre of the uprights.

Hunt added his third penalty after Welsh were caught offside around the fringes, but the visitors were then reduced to 14-men when Preece was singled out by referee Luke Pearce following Gibson’s break.

Ross took the simple three points on offer to leave Welsh sitting on a 15-9 lead at half-time.

Within the opening minute of the second half, Ross extended the lead further and the home side finally had some breathing space.

Hunt immediately had the chance to cancel out Ross’ strike, but for once the Bees winger’s radar was off target, after Hudson Tonga’uiha was penalised for not releasing.

Ross turned the screw further with his third penalty after Simon Whatling had intercepted and Mills crashed his way into the Bees 22.

Throughout the match, Welsh’s potent back division had shown glimpses of their pace and power and they delivered in the 63rd minute to it put the result beyond doubt.

Bees fly half Sam Robinson nudged a penalty into the corner, but it was Welsh that came up with the ball. But rather than simply put boot to ball, Welsh spread play across the face of their own posts and Gibson found a gap before being hauled down on halfway.

Welsh again moved the ball wide and Epi Taione, making London Welsh debut, sent Drauniniu clear with a floated miss-pass. The wing then combined beautifully with Tonga’uiha before sprinting clear to claim the home side’s third try.

All that remained to be decided was whether Welsh could add a fourth try and secure their second bonus-point win of the season, after their opening round win at Nottingham.

However, it looked like they might have to settle for just the four points when Paul Sampson looked poised to score, only for Hunt to intercept Paul Mackey’s pass with the line at the mercy of the former England international.

But Welsh got one last chance when the Bees knocked on and Taione surged forward into the Birmingham & Solihull 22. Tonga’uiha, Taione and Mackey all made the hard yards, sucking defenders in, before Thomas darted between two Bees players to touch down under the posts. His conversion proved to be the last kick of the game.

London Welsh head coach Phil Greening: “It was about getting back on the horse after Cornish Pirates and the boys trained really well this week. We brought a lot of physicality to the game today, something which was missing against Pirates.

“It was still a little bit scrappy but we’re trying things and we’re working hard. A bonus-point and no tries against, we’ll take that.

“A couple of times in their 22 we gave away stupid penalties and that took the pressure off them, and when we get in behind teams we’re not being clinical enough or they’re trying to slow the ball up and we’re not dealing with that.

“We’ve got to get better at that because we’re playing at such tempo and we need to keep that going and when it gets slowed up we’ve got to start again. There are a lot of chances we can take if we keep up the pace of the game.

“There’s a lot of potential [in the Welsh squad] but unfortunately potential doesn’t win you championships - you’ve got to deliver. If the boys don’t perform they know there’s someone willing to take their place.

On winning first game of season at Old Deer Park

“It’s was a big moment for a lot of the boys, their first home game. It’s very important for the club and the supporters that we perform well at home and we want to make Old Deer Park a fortress. If we win all our home games we’ll be up there in the top three.”

On Plymouth Albion match next Saturday

“It’s always tough down there; they really pushed Worcester so it’s another challenge. Every week in this Championship is a challenge that we’ve got to face and deal with ..The boys know what they’ve got to do to get a win down there and in the changing room after today’s game they all said we’ll have to raise it another level against Plymouth.”