Mike Schmid has warned Esher to expect a massive physical challenge in Saturday’s big home showdown against Launceston.

The Surrey side are two points clear at the top of National One following the seven-try 53-15 destruction of Cambridge last weekend.

But director of rugby Schmid believes the third-placed Cornish All Blacks will present a formidable test as Esher hunt a 13th straight victory.

Esher also have two games in hand over nearest challengers London Scottish with just nine games remaining as they close in on the Championship.

But Schmid insists his players must win the physical battle against a side they narrowly beat 10-6 last November.

He said: “Launceston are the highest-placed team we have left to play and they will present a massive challenge for us.

“They are an extremely good outfit, a tough gritty team who are well-coached and they know how to win games.

“They have a very experienced fly-half in Tony Yapp, who is a very intelligent player who will punish you if you make mistakes.

“We know we have got a lot of work to do if we are going to win the game and that means we must match them physically.

“Our physicality wasn’t good enough in the recent game at Blackheath so we must make sure we get our mental approach right and make sure we win the ruck contest.”

Schmid was delighted with the second-half display at Cambridge that saw Esher win with try doubles from Seb Jewell and Ross Chisholm and further scores from Jonny Hylton, skipper Dave Slemen and Sam Ulph.

Schmid said: “We were relatively ordinary in the first half but I asked the boys to lift the pace and tempo in the second and they went on to play some brilliant rugby.

“It was outstanding considering there had been a lot of changes through injuries and unavailability. But the whole squad performed really well and that was the most satisfying thing.”

Esher’s drive towards the Championship has been boosted by the addition of promising Wasps stars Mark Odejobi and Chris Bishay on loan.

Odejobi has switched from wing to flanker while Bishay played several first-team games on the wing for Wasps last season.

Schmid said: “We’ve had a few injuries so it’s great to get a couple of quality players in and both have fitted in really well.”

But Esher fear lock James Inglis could be out for the rest of the season as doctors are struggling to diagnose the extent of the toe injury he suffered in the win at London Scottish in January.

He is awaiting results of a further scan while Neil Hallett and Tim Tunnicliffe are also facing lengthy spells on the sidelines following appendix and cartilage operations respectively.

Esher’s next three games: Mar 13 Launceston (h), 27 Otley (h), Apr 2 Nuneaton (a).