After three defeats on the bounce, Richmond got their Championship season back on track in style, putting six tries past Hartpury to secure a first bonus point of the season with a 38-12 win..

On a sunny afternoon at the club, it was always likely that a running game was in the offing, and after seeing off Hartpury by a handful of points in both games last season, it was always likely to be tight. In truth, Richmond finally opened up and showed their try-scoring talents, after threatening time and time again in recent games.

Former Richmond prop Rupert Harden opened the scoring for Hartpury, but after that, the first half was all about the hosts, with Cam Hudson, Rob Kirby and Jono Woodward all finishing off a variety of scintillating back moves. With Luc Jones buzzing around the breakdown and keeping momentum up at all opportunities, the Hartpury defence was stretched time and time again, and a 19-7 half-time lead seemed fair.

A blistering start to the second half, though, finished the game as a realistic contest, as Jono Woodward finished off another great move off the back of a Hartpury error in the opening minutes, and Ed Milne carried over to finish off a powerful driving maul. Chris Davies finished off Richmond’s scoring in the 60th minute, and despite a late Hartpury second, Richmond looked the more dangerous side throughout the contest.

An Attacking Edge

What will be most pleasing for Richmond is the attacking intent they brought to the field. After leaving points out there in the past, and occasionally having to revert to pushovers and power up front, the backs too centre stage today. While the forwards set the platform with their efforts, the backs made the most of it with the opening four scores all coming from the boys in the backs.

Reaction

“We feel that result has been coming for a while,” said captain Jesse Liston after the game. “It’s great to put it all together and get the five points, but now we need to look to next week. One win is great, now we need to look at getting another bonus point win and keep building.”