Rams 5 Richmond 7

In atrocious conditions, a truly gutsy and wholehearted Richmond display fully merited four vital points against second placed Rams in front of a crowd, counted at 1800. Both sides played with tremendous heart and total physical commitment. But Richmond got their seven points on the board in the first five minutes and, despite some squeaky moments, especially in the final five minutes, never really looked like conceding the lead.

The four league points earned preserves Richmond’s unbeaten record and puts them three points clear of Rams, who had to settle for a single point for their second game in a row. Richmond’s next game on Saturday the 14th is against third placed Rotherham Titans, who are currently in third position, chasing the top two. So, there is no let up.

Richmond recalled Alex O’Meara on the wing and opted to start with Jimmy Litchfield and Theo Bevacqua in the front row. On the bench, Lucas Schmid returned after two or three games playing for Harlequins in the Premiership Cup. Rams made six changes to their team, bringing in newcomers at full back, scrum half and blindside flank.

With Storm Darragh’s shadow threatening, the teams prepared in dry conditions but, by the time they came out for the kick off, the rain was pretty steady, and the wind was increasing. Richmond had the better of the conditions as they kicked off, though the advantage did not appear to be significant. Richmond pressed hard in pursuit of the kick off ball and were rewarded when they forced a mistake from young Harlequin loanee Jake Murray, who kicked out on the full. He was not the last to do this, as the wind swirled around the touchline on the stand side.

Nevertheless, it gave Richmond early momentum, and they took full advantage. Having been forced out once at the corner after a promising line out drive, Richmond returned to the corner via the same short side route. This time, they then moved the ball back towards the posts before the imposing Sam Pim forced his way over. Just four minutes had elapsed and Callum Grieve quickly added the conversion.

Both sides were soon testing some high kicks in the swirling wind. Luc Jones showcased his experience, highlighted by one touch of real magic, when he slid in to intercept and mark a kick which looked on its way to a 50/22. The first set scrum was called after six minutes and Rams were immediately awarded an ominous penalty as the front row came up.

However, after nine minutes, Richmond earned themselves a chance to extend their lead. Once again Murray kicked out on the full, allowing Richmond to get their drive going and make further progress down the blindside and earn a penalty. With advantage proving unproductive, skipper Jones sensibly opted to kick for goal from in front. However, to general surprise, Callum Grieve missed, highlighting the deceiving strength of the wind.

Richmond continued to dominate the first half. Nearly all the play was in the Rams half, but Richmond could not quite finish moves. Unsurprisingly, hands were proving fallible as some shuddering tackles were absorbed in the cold conditions. Only in the set scrum did Richmond take the back seat, the officials now convinced that they had worked out which side was scrummaging correctly.

Rams had one promising moment in the Richmond 22 but lost the chance, when pinged for early contact. Richmond ended the half, satisfied with their dominance but slightly frustrated by their inability to finish off more of their chances.

The wind seemed to have picked up in the second half whilst rain was intermittent, making the already squelchy pitch stodgier again. The force of the tackling was now heavier than ever, but Richmond suffered an unfortunate blow when their man of the match centre James Langston suffered an ugly injury, requiring Schmid to take over in the centre.

Now playing into a more assertive wind, Richmond were forced back, spending rather longer in their third of the pitch. Three times Rams set up five metres out but each time the Richmond defence stayed dominant. Up front Richmond seemed to level up the scrummaging battle once Ram tight head James Baker was replaced. Both sides claimed one scrum penalty in the second half.

Both hookers threw well and were lively in the loose. No 8 Pim was again a cornerstone of attack and defence whilst the three half backs did a great job in managing the game. Rams threw everything at Richmond in the last twenty minutes, but Richmond tackled and tackled and continued to threaten the home line.

When there was about six long minutes left, Richmond were right back near their line when they turned over another Rams attack to get the put in at a set scrum. The ball shot out at the back but for once in an uncontrolled manner, and Rams flanker Mikey Duda was in the right place to grab the touchdown. It was a frustrating way to concede a score.

The score was 5-7 with what looked like a regular conversion to follow, no more than halfway out on the left. Rams’ supporters were now discussing how they could win the match. But Fraser Honey never looked like hitting the target as the ball speared off to the right. Kicking conditions were clearly tricky.

Nevertheless, Richmond were now clinging to a two point lead and Rams only need one penalty to steal the game. Rams tried everything but Richmond were not going to be beaten. The forwards did a superb job thumping into collision after collision as they worked down the clock in the opposition 22. Rams did escape at the very end and a set scrum around the ten metre line tested nerves, but Richmond never stopped working and a final penalty allowed the ball to be hoofed triumphantly into touch.

Head of rugby Rob Powell commented: ‘It was brilliant. I am extremely proud of the lads. They weren’t great conditions. They are a tight group and that’s why they came out on top. They were outstanding throughout the game. In the first half when we had all that pressure, in better conditions, we would have scored more points but, that said, we just needed to keep on going and we did that. It was a great effort’.

Tries: Pim
Conversions: Grieve

Team: Grieve, O’Meara, Langston, Dardis, Obonna, Dennett, Jones(c), Bevacqua, Torpey, Litchfield, Monson, Nugent, Benson, Saysell, Pym
Subs: Goffey, Spring, Schmid, Wakeling, Schwarz,