DAVID Paice is hoping to lead from the front as London Irish look to secure a return to the Aviva Premiership in the next fortnight.

Exiles set up a two-legged Greene King IPA Championship play-off final clash with Yorkshire Carnegie after overcoming Doncaster Knights 74-25 on aggregate, with Paice among the tryscorers in the 39-22 victory at Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

That was the 33-year-old’s 10th try of the campaign, but he has his sights set on a perfect end to the season.

He commented: “We’ve now got two huge games to look forward to and it’s crucial we prepare for the finals in the correct way as we have done throughout the season.

“We’ll stick to our core values and work on the things that we need to improve on from last Saturday’s game.”

“Like Doncaster, Carnegie are a strong team with a big pack so we will need to nullify their threats in that department.

“They also have a talented back three, so it’s important that we stop them from having too much ball and as a forward pack we need to put the heat on them and force them backwards.”

Paice also paid tribute to man-of-the-match scrum half Brendan McKibbin after he put in another impressive display against Doncaster.

He revealed: “Brendan brings a lot of toughness on the field and he has a lot of experience that is invaluable for the team.”

Irish play the first leg of their play-off at Yorkshire next Wednesday (7.45pm), with the return leg at Madejski Stadium on Wednesday, May 24.

They have already beaten their rivals three times this season, having won 41-17 at home and 20-14 away in the league, and 37-14 in the British & Irish Cup quarter finals.