Fran Matthews in her first game back after a year out through injury.
Richmond 29-5 DMP Sharks
Richmond started the match in positively, depriving Darlington Mowden Park of the ball for most of the first 10 minutes. Despite the possession, they came away with just 3 points when Abi Chamberlain was on target with a penalty kick.
Katy McLean’s restarts sought out Nele Van Hove, but the flanker was secure under the high ball and made ground each time, putting Richmond in a strong position.
DMP finally got into the game and showed good turn of pace with the winger Ruth Laybourn making an impact and giving a glimpse of the form that has seen her picked for the EPS squad.
The first half continued in a tense fashion with neither side breaking through before Lynne Cantwell saw a gap and made a darting run. Holly Myers was in support to take the pass and score her first try for Richmond; 8-0.
From the restart Sophie Nicholas ran the ball up the pitch before passing to Holly Myers, again supporting the runner, to score her second try. Abi Chamberlain kicked the conversion, giving Richmond a 15-0 lead at half time.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first which saw both teams struggle to finish off promising attacks.
DMP broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with Sophie Spence finally bursting through as she had threatened to do all day; 15-5.
Richmond had two opportunities go begging when certain tries were missed due to forward passes. A solid scrum from the home side began to dominate and looked positively ferocious when Ellisha Dee joined the field.
Richmond began to look a more attacking threat with a score looking likely from any position. It fell to Abi Chamberlain to cut through the Sharks defence and score under the posts all but securing the win. Jackie Shiels took over kicking duties to convert the try and give Richmond a 22-5 lead.
In the final phase of play Richmond were awarded a penalty try after their scrum had marched the ball over the line before a DMP player interfered from an offside position. The try was converted by Jackie Shiels to secure the Richmond win 29-5.
