FULL back Peter Lydon might have kicked the winning points, but head coach Peter Richards was in no doubt who London Scottish’s hero was in their Championship derby triumph at London Welsh on Saturday.

Scottish defeated their fellow exiles 19-17 at Old Deer Park after Namibia international flanker Tinus du Plessis crossed in the corner and Lydon added the extras for a second week in succession.

Scottish, up to eighth in the table, are now 13 points off the top four and 13 points above the drop zone after a run of four straight wins in all competitions.

Du Plessis only arrived at the club last month and Richards was thankful for his breathless services.

“Peter Lydon got us out of jail for a second week in a row with a just fantastic kick. We can’t rely on him every week to win us the game, but at the moment he is doing a good job of it,” he said.

“Tinus has not played much rugby since the World Cup, but against Munster and Leeds he was fantastic.

“To do 80 minutes against Welsh was really impressive, to be on the end of that try when all at that point probably seemed lost, was great.”

He added: “We showed great character last week to win at the death and we have done it again, but it’s no good for the coaches’ hearts.

“We are spending the last 20 minutes of games in a panic thinking why are we making it so hard for ourselves, but ultimately it is four points on the table and it pushes us closer to that top six.”

Welsh head coach Rowland Phillips said: “You can’t fault the character and attitude of the players. They were outstanding. They grew as individuals and as a team.”

Welsh host Nottingham on Saturday, while Scottish entertain Cornish Pirates.