Richmond director of rugby Brett Taylor has dismissed talk his side may struggle in the face of a stiff challenge from a resurgent Shelford on Saturday.

Taylor's troops comprehensively dispatched London Division One whipping boys Thanet Wanderers 100-7 last weekend to remain four points clear of Worthing in second.

Richmond have a history of missing out in tight games because of the pausity of quality in opposition, during their rise from administration to the brink of thse National Leagues.

But after running Doncaster Knights close in the EDF Energy National Trophy last month and squeaking past derby rivals Barnes, Taylor, who will see his team guarantee at least a promotion play-off spot with a win this weekend, is confident his side will deliver a professional performance to match last week's romp.

"Shelford play a very, very hard brand of rugby and have recruited one or two good players recently," he said.

"Not many teams put 40 points on Barnes and they did that last week, so we know it is going to be tough.

"The Thanet match was one game among a group of matches that presented different challenges to us.

"At risk of sounding like Arsene Wenger, we're are challenging the players to take each game as it comes and concentrate on raising their own performances rather than the opposition."

Skipper Matt Hart scored four tries and 10 conversions for a personal tally of 40 points as Richmond delivered a near perfect performance at the weekend.

But Taylor was pleased his players were disappointed with allowing their opponents the luxury of breaching their defence.

"The last try was as good as the first and I was delighted with the way they stuck to the task of scoring points rather than letting the game get loose," he added.

"They were really annoyed at letting in seven points and I think that shows we have an excellent mindset at the moment."