London Welsh face relegation from the Aviva Premiership after slumping to a 31-14 defeat at at the hands of Northampton Saints at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday.

Comment by ESPNscrum's Graham Jenkins

• London Welsh's short spell in the Aviva Premiership has certainly been eventful. They have endured some epic highs and lows over the last 12 months and sadly it does not look like the drama will end with their relegation from the top flight that was all but confirmed with their latest defeat at the Kassam Stadium.
• Major shareholder Kelvin Byron, who played a major role in funding their rise, has revealed he will quit the club at the end of the season and reports suggesting that chief executive Tony Copsey will follow him mean the future of one of the sport's most famous clubs is far from certain.
• Byron will not be going quietly and has already pointed the finger at Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union and accused them of doing all they could to ensure Welsh's Premiership stay was as brief as possible - from the moment they informed the club they didn't meet the 'minimum standards' required for the league to the more recent points deduction for fielding an ineligible player that struck at the heart of their survival bid.
• You sense he may have a point when you consider the timing of the initial announcement that they would not be promoted - on the eve of last season's Championship final, the long-running legal row that left them just a few weeks to recruit a squad of players 'no one else wanted', a system that denies the promoted club the same funding as their more established rivals and a points deduction for what was arguably a criminal act - not an administration error. On that evidence, it is a credit to everyone involved at the club that they managed to remain in the fight for this long.

A 10th successive league defeat consigned them to finishing bottom of the table and their only hope of survival is if the RFU Championship title winners - to be confirmed following play-offs late next month - do not meet Premiership entry criteria. But as the clear Championship favourites and current dominant team are Newcastle, who were a top-flight club last term, it appears inconceivable there will be a reprieve for Lyn Jones' side.

Even their five-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in the Premiership this season looks set to be irrelevant as they are now 12 points behind 11th-placed London Irish with only two games left. And there were also reports today that their majority shareholder Kelvin Bryon intends pulling out of the club, with Bryon claiming he had "had enough" of Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union.

But Northampton were in no mood for sentiment at the Kassam Stadium as they strengthened their play-off hopes through a comfortable victory that was underpinned by substitute Tom May's quickfire try double just before half-time.

May struck twice in two minutes, before his fellow centre Luther Burrell crossed twice during the second period. Fly-half Stephen Myler added three penalties and Ryan Lamb converted Burrell's second score to give Saints a five-point maximum. It means a repeat performance at home to lowly Sale Sharks next Saturday will confirm their place in the play-offs.

Welsh replied with tries in each half from wing Nick Scott and number eight Daniel Browne - half-backs Alex Davies and Gordon Ross each kicked a conversion - but their admirable ambition was undermined too often by poor execution.

London Welsh suffered a blow when skipper Jonathan Mills was ruled out, so Matt Corker took over in the second-row and Ross assumed captaincy duties, while Northampton showed three changes from their last outing as Burrell, Ken Pisi and Brian Mujati all started.

Myler kicked Saints into a second-minute lead that he doubled shortly afterwards as Northampton immediately discovered an impressive off-loading mode, using carriers like Courtney Lawes to make inroads.

Welsh showed glimpses of their attacking prowess with ball in hand, but they suffered an early injury blow when centre Seb Jewell limped off and was replaced by James Lewis before Saints lost an injured George Pisi, with May taking over from him alongside midfield partner Burrell.

Northampton looked certain to extend their lead after setting up camp just five metres from the home side's line, yet resilient defence sparked a thrilling Welsh counter-attack led by Scott that had Saints defenders scrambling.

The move ultimately fizzled out, but Northampton knew they were embroiled in a hard-fought contest, and they soon had far more to worry about when Welsh caught them cold from deep.

Former Wales centre Sonny Parker intercepted a Lee Dickson pass deep inside his own half, and although he did not have the pace to make Saints pay, he found a supporting Scott, who touched down between the posts.

Davies added the extras to edge Welsh ahead, yet the lead lasted just two minutes as Myler completed his penalty hat-trick before May struck a killer double blow.

The former Newcastle centre's pace took him clear on both occasions, and from being in touch just before half-time, Welsh trooped off 19-7 adrift.

And Saints wasted little time reasserting themselves after the break, cutting Welsh open inside six minutes as Burrell gathered Mujati's pass. Myler's touchline conversion attempt hit the post, but Northampton were one try away from a bonus point.

Replacement Northampton prop Alex Waller was sin-binned as the game entered its final quarter, but that quickly evened itself up when Ross received a yellow card from referee Greg Garner.

And there was enough time for Burrell to cross unopposed against a fatigued Welsh defence, completing a comprehensive win and leaving Welsh with nothing more than pride to play for in their remaining Premiership fixtures this season against London Irish and Worcester.

"Lots of our play was quite outstanding and I'm coming away sad that we're down, but buoyed by the performance," said London Welsh boss Lyn Jones. "Some of our play was five-star, but then some of it was one-star and that's where you concede points isn't it?

"You've got to take one step at a time and what we need to do now is just focus on London Irish and Worcester Warriors. If we turn up, we can win those games. We need to build on what we're achieving at the moment. All I can do is get my teams to play as best they can. Moving forward it's the Championship for us."

And Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder was delighted to see his side keep their play-off hopes alive. "It was a loose game. London Welsh came out to play with a bit of ambition and so did we," he said. "From our point of view we're pleased we got the win and the bonus point. We showed a lot of attacking intent and we probably just need to tidy up our accuracy.

"It's put us in a good position with two games to go. We've got Sale next and we've been looking at every game as a cup final. If we beat Sale next week we've got a good chance of getting in the top four. London Welsh have been a credit to the Premiership. They've pushed a lot of teams close. They've got some scalps here, they've come in and tried to play some rugby and been a good addition to the Premiership."

London Welsh's Nick Scott reflects on his side's plight © Getty Images

Enlarge