London Scottish may have already secured their place in the Greene King IPA Championship play-offs but centre Matt Hawke insists they will not be taking their foot of the gas between now and the end of the season.
Australian powerhouse Hawke was among the scorers in Scottish’s 34-29 victory over Nottingham on Saturday – a result which secured their place in the top four for the first time.
Yet with two games still to go of the regular season, beginning with this weekend’s trip to Yorkshire Carnegie, Hawke is adamant that the Exiles’ standards must not drop.
But the 28-year-old admits it was a huge relief to be guaranteed a semi-final spot before the season’s conclusion.
“It was our grand final in many ways, it’s what we have been trying to achieve since the start of the season,” Hawke said.
“It’s nice to get it out of the way. We love to do things the hard way, especially recently, so there will be no taking our foot off the gas, we need to put it on in these remaining games heading into the play-offs.
“The ball is in our court now, we can decide what we want to do but we really need to keep pushing to maintain some kind of form.”
Number eight Mark Bright will also be desperate to maintain his stunning form for London Scottish, having scored an astonishing 24 tries this term.
Hawke says skipper Bright, could prove the difference when push comes to shove.
“He’s on fire,” added former ACT Brumbies back. "To have scored that many tries is amazing, he’s stealing them all off us.
“He has been great but we have a lot of talent in our side.”
Hawke, too, has impressed since making the move to England in November.
The Canberra-born ace had his first taste of rugby in this country when he helped Brumbies to defeat Auckland in the World Club 7s at Twickenham in 2013.
And after officially signing in January after a brief trial period, Hawke is loving life in Richmond.
He continued: “I’m really enjoying my time here, it’s a great club, a great area and I’m playing alongside a great bunch of lads.”
“It’s the first time I’ve played over here, aside from my time with the Brumbies, so it’s been a new experience but one I have really loved.”
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