Winning their third away game, Richmond made it a resounding four wins out of four overall with a dominant performance against neighbours Esher. For the second week in a row, Richmond ran in eight tries, though credit is due to their opponents for sticking to the task and scoring three late tries in reply. The result lifts Richmond to third in the table, displacing Rotherham Titans who were beaten by next week’s opponents Sale.

Richmond made four changes to their starting fifteen, Frank McMillan replacing the unavailable Alex O’Meara, whilst Toby Saysell and Sam Pim returned to the pack and Will Goffey and Callum Torpey switched roles at hooker. On the bench, Mattias Woollard earned his first club selection.

The rain had mercifully retreated on the morning of the game and underfoot conditions held up well. Esher had the first chance of the game, following a penalty for a high tackle but Jake Monson cleared the danger by stealing the lineout ball. A neat kick ahead just bounced wrong, hitting the corner flag in Richmond’s first attack. However, it wasn’t long before the first score followed. It came after seven minutes from a fluent attack down the right wing, Paddy Case and Chidera Obonna handling well to send in the speeding McMillan from around ten metres.

Esher had another chance with a kickable penalty but opted to go for the corner and were penalised, probably for sealing as they set up. After fifteen minutes, Richmond scored their second try. Some short sharp passes set them up in the 22 before Monson threw a deft slip pass to hooker Goffey. Callum Grieve converted with the first of six successful kicks.

Grieve was in the action a minute later with a lovely crosskick which found McMillan in space, but the Esher defence held out. Esher skipper Sam Morley, returning after injury, kicked well as both sides probed for territory. Defences were robust and forced handling errors. However, the spell was broken on the half hour when Richmond mounted a drive from a lineout just outside the home 22. With the referee signalling a penalty, Richmond played on, and good hands enabled Grieve to send Obonna in at the corner.

The bonus point try five minutes later was the best of the match with some lovely handling and movement the feature of a sweeping move, appropriately completed by Case for a 0-24 half time score. The only negative was the sight of skipper and birthday boy David Massey hobbling off with an ankle knock.

Richmond were back on the scoresheet after just one minute of the second half. Monson once again secured the kick off ball before Lucas Schmid made good ground with a powerful break. Esher conceded a penalty in defence and the Richmond forwards drove over from the lineout, Goffey getting his second try.

The lead was extended six minutes later. Alex Schwarz was the provider in another composed performance, this time setting up Christian Freeman to crash over via a post. Six tries down, a lot of sides would have slumped, but Esher now got two tries as they dug in. Richmond made several changes, with both centres now replaced and a scrum half on the wing. Esher took full advantage, centre Myles Rawstron-Rudd scoring after a long period of patient attack in the 22.

Three minutes later, Esher added a second. A missed tackle just over halfway gave winger James Botterill an overlap which he used with great skill. Cutting in, he bumped off two tacklers before being caught just short of the line by Obonna. However, Botterill had the momentum to get the touchdown to complete an excellent solo try, converted by Morley.

If Richmond had relaxed a bit, they now upped their game and added two more tries in the next ten minutes. Man of the match Lewis Dennett made an initial break, carried on by Torpey and Monson before the hooker completed the move under the posts. Then, in the 61st minute, McMillan sped away on a clean break before some neat handling ended with Monson getting a deserving try close to the posts.

Richmond took full opportunity to empty their bench and provide game time for the full squad. In the process they rather lost shape in the final minutes. Esher got the final try when a long miss pass by Morley allowed Botterill a rather easy run-in for his team’s third try. The home side then valiantly huffed and puffed in pursuit of a bonus point, but it was not to be.

Tries: McMillan, Goffey (2), Obonna, Case, Freeman, Torpey, Monson
Conversions: Grieve (6)
PoTM: Lewis Dennett

Team: Grieve, McMillan, Case, Massey ©, Obonna, Dennett, Schwarz, Bevacqua, Goffey, Spring, Monson, Nugent, Schmid, Saysell, Pim

Replacements: Torpey, Freeman, Woollard, Butler, S. Smith