 At the end of that season, Venter left his role at London Irish and Gary Gold was promoted to head coach.Gold's first season in charge saw London Irish struggle further, finishing eighth in the Premiership, and being knocked out by Narbonne in the second round of the 2003–04 European Challenge Cup.His second season proved even more of a struggle, slipping to tenth in the Premiership and again being knocked out in the second round of the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup by Pau.