Richmond 50 Bishop’s Stortford 40

Richmond continued their progress in National One with a second successive five point victory, which elevated them to sixth place in the table. This time they ran in eight tries against opponents Bishop’s Stortford, but they will be less pleased with the six tries conceded.

Richmond again made a number of changes, welcoming back Henry Cheeseman in the centre after several seasons away and giving debuts to Lucas Schmid and Max Murphy. Additionally, Luke Spring earned promotion with an outstanding game for the Vikings and Luc Jones returned after an early injury in the first league game.

Once again, Richmond started with real intent and had their opening score within two minutes. From a Stortford kick, Richmond spun the ball wide to James Whitehouse.

The winger did really well to beat two defenders, one on the outside and one on the inside. Half held, he then threw a perfect pass to the supporting Cheeseman, who ran straight and fast to the posts, Sean Kerr adding the conversion.

Well prompted by scrum half Jones, Richmond looked full of running, whilst their defence quickly closed down their opponents’ attacks. A second score looked inevitable and it duly followed after ten minutes. Toby Saysell made an initial break before Alex Burrage chipped neatly to the right wing. Once again Whitehouse was then the supplier, taking possession before flipping a scoring pass to Cheeseman for his second try and a 12-0 scoreline.

Richmond were soon back on the attack, backs and forwards interpassing well. However, around the twenty minute mark, ambition slightly overreached itself, a blind pass deep in the Stortford 22, providing the opportunity for a counter attack. Jones made the necessary saving tackle, taking a bang on his knee for his trouble.

However, Stortford retained possession and kicked well to the corner. From a scrum, they then barraged the line till flanker Harrison Langworthy forced his way over for a converted try.

Richmond soon restored their two score lead, prompted by an excellent 50/22 kick from Alex O’Meara. The pack drove forward from the line out at pace and, after an initial penalty, skipper Alex Post got the touchdown. Kerr added the conversion from the touchline.

If Richmond thought it was going to be straightforward, Stortford now put them right. First, scrumhalf Chris Bolton was the most alert when his side got a penalty on halfway. Taking a quick tap, he found empty space ahead and put his head down to run forty-five metres, outpacing the home cover. His side soon added a third try, when O’Meara tried to run from behind his own line and was penalised for holding on. The pack then drove over from the lineout, with flanker Ollie Jones the scorer. With Bishop’s Stortford now level at 19-19, Richmond needed to regain their impetus.

With the two very mobile locks Jake Monson and Chris Te Mete constantly linking well, Richmond added two tries before halftime. Te Mete grabbed loose line out ball to feed Schmid for the first, whilst the thunderous Ntinga Mpiko provided the impetus for the second. This was appropriately completed by Whitehouse, who again showed neat footwork in the process. After a breathless first half, Richmond led 33-19.

Richmond should have scored from a forward drive early in the second half but a creeping niggle among the packs led to a warning to both sides. After 46 minutes, Richmond did score, Jones slotting a neat left-footed grubber into the 22 before the pack rumbled forward after a scrum penalty and the deserving Post got his second try of the day.

The game continued fast and very loose. Stortford kept plugging away, with James Ayrton and Nick Hankin to the fore, and got the next score five minutes later. From a lineout in the 22, centre Austin Pope battered forward and slipped under a tackle before finding the lively Bolton in support to claim his second try.

The game stuttered at this stage with Richmond frustrated by conceding too many penalties, mostly at the tackle or the set scrum. After 68 minutes, the spell was broken by man of the match Saysell. The flanker, having contributed some ferocious tackling, took some line out ball thirty metres out, dummied a pass and blazed a straight line to the posts. Two minutes later, Richmond added an eighth try, Schmid claiming his second try of the day as he ran in from twenty metres. This took the score to 50-26.

The last ten minutes were rather less rewarding. Saysell got a yellow card for not rolling away and then Conor Maguire followed suit for a high tackle. With thirteen men, Richmond ran right out of steam and a persistent Stortford side duly claimed the final two scores by Alex Rayment and Ben Harrison-Price.

Richmond’s running lines and support play were a big step forward but, despite the win, there was frustration at the final score. Head of rugby Rob Powell commented: ‘That looked like one of those games from ten years ago when one side scores lots of points, then the other does. Some you win, some you lose. We need to be better than that. We’ve got so many talented players. I know they care but, today, our discipline in defence was not where it needs to be’.

Tries: Cheeseman (2), Post (2), Schmid (2), Whitehouse, Saysell
Conversions: Kerr (5)
Team: A. O’Meara, H.Graham, H.Cheeseman, S.Kerr, J.Whitehouse, A.Burrage, L.Jones, L.Spring, A.Post (c), N.Mpiko, C.Te Mete, J. Monson, L.Schmid, T.Saysell, E.Benson.
Subs: J.Litchfield, C.Maguire, M.Murphy, M.Marsh, T. Smith