London Scottish winger Charlie Broughton insists he could have added to his five try-haul at Manchester had full-back Stuart Peel been more generous.

The Exiles triumphed 87-7 in a one-sided affair at the Athletic Ground that saw the hosts edge a point closer to runaway National Division One leaders Esher.

Peel himself ran in four tries as director of rugby Brett Taylor’s men cut loose to cross the whitewash 15 times in all to give their points difference a major boost.

Broughton - who heads the league’s try scoring charts with 17 - has never scored five in a match before, but he still felt short changed.

“It probably could have been more had Stuart passed the ball a bit more. I had a couple of easy run-ins had he not gone himself,” he said.

“It was a good day. We started to throw the ball around and tried a few new things that seemed to work.

“It wasn’t as tough as some of the games we’ve played this season, but Manchester didn’t ease up and proved that by scoring a try even when they were 87 points down.”

The precarious state of finances at Championship sides Coventry and Birmingham & Solihull could open the door for a play-off spot in National One should either fold before the end of the campaign.

Scottish, who are currently 15 points clear of third-placed Launceston, would need to finish second to take advantage of any promotion re-think and Broughton reckons that is what everyone at the club is focused on.

“Although there is a long way to go yet, it will be a very difficult task to catch Esher now,” he added.

“You never know what happen with the league above. There could be a play-off thrown in at some stage and we have to make sure we are in the best position to take advantage of that.

“Brett keeps reminding us of that and we are taking it into each game.”

Scottish’s next three games: Feb 27 Cinderford (a), Mar 6 Redruth (h), 13 Otley (a).