The battle between seventh placed Ampthill and eighth placed Richmond was contested in the brooding shadow of Storm Eunice. A third minute try by the host club proved to be the decisive moment. The conditions meant that both sides mostly limited their open rugby and kicked for territory, probing for mistakes. Each team had proven, effective driving mauls, and this always looked the likeliest route to a try. Richmond probably handled the ball more as they were chasing the game for most of the time, but line breaks were rare for either side, as the respective defences allowed very little free space.

Richmond have had a testing series of three games in succession against the top four clubs. Whilst the performances have provided confidence and admiration, they must have taken a physical toll. By contrast, this was Ampthill’s first game in three weeks, so they came in fresh but perhaps expected to be a bit rusty. Richmond made few changes, James Kane returning to fullback in place of the injured Will Kaye, and the two young Harlequin loanees Lennox Anyanwu and Jack Musk returning to the squad. On the bench for the first time was young centre Zuriel Makele, who has earned his place through some strong performances in the Vikings.

Driving rain and a gusting, cold wind greeted both teams and spectators in the open spaces of Dillingham Park. Richmond played in white shirts to avoid any colour confusion. The game was preceded by a minute’s silence for Evesham’s Jack Jeffery, who tragically passed away last week in the act of scoring a try.

Anyone who expected Ampthill to start slowly was quickly proved wrong as they energetically dominated the early minutes. Richmond did not help themselves, getting pinged as they received the kick-off ball. Ampthill, therefore, had an immediate opportunity with a lineout in the 22. Skipper Charlie Beckett claimed the lineout ball and the pack efficiently worked their way towards the line. Richmond did well to hold them out at the corner, but when Ampthill won follow up ball, a neat grubber by Tom Hudson to the wide right found fullback Will Partington in space. Kane slipped as he turned and left Partington with the challenge of gathering the greasy ankle height ball without knocking-on. The fullback made no mistake, and fly-half Josh Bragman did just as well to add the conversion, making perfect allowance for the sideways strength of the wind.

Ronnie McLean was held up in Richmond’s first attack, and, at the resultant scrum, Ampthill were awarded a penalty, quickly followed by another after the lineout on half-way. Ampthill therefore had a second chance to batter the Richmond line, but Jack Stafford provided a crucial tackle to stop an attack on the blindside. However, a follow up Richmond tackle was adjudged high, and Ampthill continued the short-range bombardment. Twice fly-half Bragman looked for another grubber behind the Richmond defensive line but each time the ball went dead and, eventually, Richmond managed to escape.

Richmond now had their turn to set up in the opposition 22 but won scruffy lineout ball. In the act of trying to tidy it up, they gave away an offside penalty and the chance was lost. Jake Caddy has steadily improved all season and he in turn covered and ran well, but then another penalty was given away in the follow up. Richmond players too often got isolated, allowing the scavenging Ampthill back-row to turn over possession.

In the scrums, Ampthill were awarded an early penalty, but the Richmond front-row worked hard to earn parity. Twice, Ted Landray used the side of his boot to find good touch positions and gradually Richmond edged back into the game. Just before half-time James Kane had a long penalty kick attempt but the effort was just short.

With the sun reluctantly appearing and a gaggle of extra supporters taking the crowd number up to 320, Ampthill now had the better wind conditions. Despite this, Richmond stuck to the task and kept the ball more effectively. However, they did not help themselves by giving away another penalty, seven minutes into the half, and Bragman made no mistake.

Substitute Jack Musk, back after several Harlequins first team appearances, brought some new energy into the side and had a good run from a short lineout. He was soon joined by three more teammates from the bench as Richmond sought new impetus. The breakthrough came after 58 minutes and followed a penalty, which allowed Richmond to set up ten metres out. The pack made steady progress but were stopped a metre out. The forwards stayed patient, picking and driving until the impressive Stafford saw a gap and dived over. Kane just missed the very tricky conversion.

Two points behind, Richmond seemed to have grabbed the upper hand for the first time. However, they now gave Bragman two kickable penalties in quick succession, one at the kick-off and one at the breakdown. The fly-half missed the first one but took his second chance to push the lead out to five points. Richmond stuck to the task and twice got themselves back into the opposition 22 with the lineout throw in their favour. However, the Ampthill defence worked hard and managed to spoil the possession.

There was time for debuts for Ben Robbins and Zuriel Makele, the former having enough game time to make a good impression. But it was a frustrating day overall for Richmond, who made too many errors in the very difficult conditions. By contrast, a well drilled Ampthill used home advantage to good effect and deserved the narrow win.

Head Coach Rob Powell commented post-game: "We are disappointed with the result, execution wise I don't blame the players' efforts at all. We've had a few tough weeks and played some good stuff but we didn't quite get it right and Ampthill were very good at what they did. They did a good job on us at the breakdown."

Richmond's next Championship fixture is against Hartpury University on Saturday 12th March at the Athletic Ground (KO 2pm). Click here to take advantage of our £10 match ticket offer.

SENIOR RICHMOND RESULTS:

Ampthill 13 - Richmond Men 1st XV 8
Richmond Women 1st XV 69 - Supermarine Ladies 0
Richmond Vikings 40 - Esher 2nd XV 0
Ampthill 2nd XV 54 - Richmond Saxons 26

FINAL SCORE: AMPTHILL 13 - RICHMOND 8

Tries: Jack Stafford (58th min)

Penalties: James Kane (37th min)