Two yellow cards within two minutes of each other finally decided this game on a freezing afternoon at Hartpury. Richmond had pulled back to 24-20 with 15 minutes to go, but the reduction to 13 men was too much of a handicap.

Once again, Richmond came second in the early stages, Hartpury monopolising possession. Lock Cameron Jordan increased the pressure when he charged down Charlie Gowling’s kick, but Will Homer deftly cleared the danger. Richmond appeared to have weathered the storm and had a period of possession themselves, though they made limited progress. However, after eight minutes, Richmond were penalised close to the Hartpury ten metre line and Hartpury took the opportunity to tap and go. Within seconds, scrum-half Toby Venner, previously of Gloucester, was running free in the Richmond half. With another back alongside him to increase the options, Venner dodged and weaved his way to the line, Homer given little chance to stop him. James Williams added the straightforward conversion.

Richmond now settled a bit, Freddie Hosking providing lineout ball and Ronnie McLean running the crash ball. After 14 minutes, Hartpury made a rare mess of a backs move and James Hadfield turned over possession to win a penalty, converted by Lewis Dennett.

Five minutes later, Richmond had a good chance when Dennett kicked beautifully to use a penalty to get within five metres. Hosking duly won the lineout ball, but his team got pinged in the follow up play, frustration being demonstrated by the imposition of an extra ten metres. With Jack Allcock prominent, the Richmond defence were now doing a good job in forcing Hartpury back but, in attack, Richmond could find minimal penetration themselves. Too often individual players simply ran out of options. After one such sequence of phases, Gowling duly tried a solo break and got isolated, conceding a penalty. Hartpury kicked to within ten metres before spreading the ball wide right for Sam Smith to power in at the corner.

Four minutes later, Richmond had their first try. Hartpury seemed to get distracted by calls for a high tackle, and referee Neil Chivers appeared to penalise them for back chat. Ten metres out, Hosking was again the lineout man and the forwards got the drive going before the backs joined in and Hadfield got the touch down. The missed conversion left the score at 12-8.

The game now seemed well poised, little margins providing advantage first one way, then the other. A well angled Dennett kick was inches over the line in the emerging wind, transforming an attacking position into a defensive one. McLean made one wonderful catch to follow up a Gowling box-kick, but the attack fizzled out. With a minute to go, Gowling was flattened as he took the direct force of a high looking contact and was replaced by Callum Watson, the first of four injury enforced changes.

Maybe Richmond were distracted by the change, but the try now conceded was too easy. Fullback Ben Foley joined the line and, from 35 metres out, stepped and simply cut inside one of the centres before accelerating to the try-line. Williams’ conversion extended the half-time lead to 19-8.

Richmond were now encouraged by the award of a sequence of penalties, a total of 11 being awarded in their favour in the second half. The wind severely limited kicking options, but Hosking again claimed the line outball on the 22, and the forwards stayed patient, working their way to the line before Huw Worthington got the touchdown.

During the score, Richmond suffered a blow as Hosking became the second player forced off with a knock. Sam Collingridge was a good replacement and Henri Williams, who had an excellent first start, took over the lineout calling. Lennox Anyanwu also joined the action and, managing to get his hands free, combined well with Homer to give Jake Caddy a half chance.

However, it was Hartpury who got the next score and it followed a scrum, where Richmond had secured possession against the head. The ball was then promptly lost in the increasingly icy conditions, and Hartpury took full advantage. Stopped five metres out, they battered the line before throwing the ball out wide left to a clutch of backs with a clear overlap. They made no mistake and winger Robbie Smith got the touchdown.

Still, Richmond kept battling and they scored their third try in the 65th minute. Hartpury collapsed the first drive, 25 metres out and, given a second chance from five metres, Richmond scored their third try from a lineout drive, Mark Bright securing his inevitable tenth try of the season. When Dennett added a very good conversion, the score became 24-20 and Richmond were in with a sniff.

But not for long. In the 68th minute, a clearance was emphatically charged down and Bright scrambled back from offside to prevent the try, at the cost of a yellow card. Hartpury set up a five metre lineout and, when the drive was collapsed, Mike Perks was awarded another yellow card and a penalty try was signalled.

The rest of the match was drawn out by injuries and replacements, including knocks to Jake Caddy and Cameron Mitchell. Both Tom Ffitch and Ethan Benson made first-team debuts in some fairly chaotic circumstances but contributed well, as the team sought a fourth try to take away a point. Long delays were experienced as Hartpury attended to their injured, and the afternoon got progressively colder. Richmond huffed and puffed, running most of their continuing supply of penalties but making very little progress. The inevitable duly followed, as the ball was lost and Sam Smith had an easy jog to the line, Williams’ conversion making the final score 38-20.

Richmond's Championship season continues this Saturday against local rivals Ealing Trailfinders at the Athletic Ground (Kick-off 3pm). Click here to purchase match tickets.

OTHER SENIOR RESULTS:

Brunel University 0 - Richmond Saxons 41
Bournemouth 2nd XV 20 - Richmond Normans 14
Richmond Jutes 28 - Worthing 2nd XV 21
Richmond Colts 22 - Old Emanuel Colts 7

FINAL SCORE: HARTPURY 38 - RICHMOND 20

Tries: James Hadfield (32nd min), Huw Worthington (50th min), Mark Bright (65th min)

Conversions: Lewis Dennett (65th min)
Penalties: Lewis Dennett (15th min)

Image courtesy of Ollie Tycer Photography.