Director of rugby Brett Taylor insists Saturday’s National Trophy triumph over National One Manchester is the benchmark performance his London Scottish must maintain until the end of the season.

The Exiles edged past a team two divisions higher than them 33-25 at the weekend to set up a last 16 clash with near neighbours Esher on February 7.

It means Taylor’s men stand three games from a cup final appearance at rugby HQ, but the Athletic Ground chief insists his priority remains securing promotion from National Division Three South.

And with Scottish currently a point behind league leaders Ealing, he reckons the hard work starts now.

“It is a great reference point for us, in terms of the boys are going to have to play like that from now on if we are to win the league, “ he said.

“One senior player said afterwards he thought the side had grown up because we had to really craft for a win, and I go along with that.

“We have got a massive six weeks ahead of us that is going to go a long way towards deciding how successful we are going to be.

“We have made a statement in the cup this year and we are really looknig forward to the next round, but we’ve made no secret of the fact the league is the priority now and we must manage our resouces accordingly.

“It dosn’t matter who we face now, all the games are massive challenges.”

Scottish take on their co-tenants, Rosslyn Park, Dings Crusders, Esher and Ealing over the next five weekends with Taylor enjoying a clean bill of health among his squad following an enforced four-week break over Christmas.

A late Owain Walbyoff try secured a historic victory at the weekend after scores from Roman Piotrowski, Simon Amor and Charlie Broughton had given their side a 28-25 lead.

And Taylor was impressed how his side shaped up after a long rest from competitive action.

“It was a great day and the way we handled the long journey, on top of the Christmas break, is a great tribute to the back room staff as much as anything else,” he added.

“We showed we can score tries against a National One side - proving our attacking shape works - and I was really impressed with our defensive patterns.”

London Scottish’s next three fixtures: Jan 24 Richmond (h), Jan 31 Rosslyn Park (a), Feb 7 Esher (National Trophy, a).