Richmond chief Geoff Richards insists there is no need to panic despite seeing his side hovering just above the National Division Two South drop-zone after the opening month of matches.

Local rivals Rosslyn Park completed a 28-13 triumph at the Athletic Ground after racing to a 15-point lead in the opening quarter of an hour to allbut secure victory by half-time.

Richards saw his men in a similar position last season, but they recovered after Christmas to finish fourth in the table behind champions London Scottish, Saturday’s visitors and Ealing.

Richmond have won just once so far, but have at least banked two bonus points to keep them out of the bottom four and on the flipside are only eight points adrift of third-placed Barking.

And the Australian director of rugby, who admitted it has been a disappointing start to the campaign, reckons it could have been worse.

“When I looked through the fixtures I could have seen us getting through September without winning a single game,” he said.

“We’ve played four teams that we lost to at least once last season, so coming away with six points is not all that bad.

“It is disappointing because we had a good off season and thought we would be hitting the ground running, but clearly it could take as long as last season before we find the consistency you need at this level.”

A Jason Phipps converted try and two Matt Hart penalties were not enough to haul Richmond back into a game Richards conceded they had lost in the opening 15 minutes.

“You can’t afford to give a team like Rosslyn Park at start like that and then expect to win. Our decision making was poor and we didn’t finish off the chances we created,” he added.

Richards’ men travel to Henley - a team below them in the table - on Saturday and the coach reckons his side side cannot afford to be off the pace for another week.

“There are five new teams in the league and we are already finding that the intensity of the game at this level, means you have got to be on top of your game at all times,” said Richards.

“If we can get a few wins under our belts our confidence will go up and we should things improve dramatically.”

Richmond’s next three games: Oct 3 Henley (a), 10 Worthing (h), 17 Southend (a).