Esher have boosted their Championship survival hopes with the capture of New Zealander Richard Mayhew for the rest of the campaign.

The 25-year-old North Harbour back rower flew into England on Tuesday and could be thrown straight into the squad for Saturday’s home clash against Cornish Pirates.

Esher Director of Rugby Mike Schmid was keen to bolster his squad with just three Championship games to go before the end-of-season play-offs.

He said: “Richard has great experience with North Harbour and he is somebody who was on Wasps’ radar and was recommended to me by Tony Hanks and Craig Dowd.

“Both spoke very highly of him as a player and as a person and he will add some quality to the squad and some competitiveness and stir things up a bit. He also has a British passport, which helps.

“It’s about bringing in somebody who can add some freshness and eagerness to the side and hopefully push everybody else on too.

“We felt it was important to add some more strength in depth to the squad with Chris York spending a lot more time with Quins recently.

“We’ll see how Richard is with jetlag and that sort of stuff but he could be involved in the 22 against Cornish Pirates, perhaps coming off the bench, but we’ll see.”

Mayhew is keen to play at a higher level and has a clause in his contract stating he could leave Molesey Road if a Premiership club came in for him.

But Schmid added: “There are several of our players who have that clause in their contract and of course there is a risk we could lose him.

“Having any dual registered player is a risk but it’s good to have players who are ambitious to play at a higher level and the Championship is a good breeding ground for Premiership players.”

Esher are in 10th place in the Championship but last Saturday’s win over Rotherham closed the gap on eighth-placed Bristol to five points with three games remaining.