Westcombe Park 26 Richmond 25

It was an opportunity for one side to enjoy a rare day of success and, after a titanic effort by both sides, it was Westcombe Park who celebrated victory by a single point.

Richmond had the consolation of two bonus points in defeat but will again rue two moments of defensive madness, which undid some sterling work by the forwards in horrible conditions.

Richmond started well and an early foray into the opposition 22 looked promising, breaking down with an unfortunate knock on.

However, soon afterwards, skipper Henry Head took a heavy knock, causing slight distraction as Guillaume Schueller warmed up on the touchline.

Westbourne Park retained full concentration and opted to run a penalty deep into the opposition 22, before recycling down the line to find space for winger Chris Lewis, who drove through a final tackle to score the opening try.

Five minutes later things got worse and it was one of those moments of defensive frailty which have bedevilled Richmond all season.

The pack, looking in full control in the scrums, drove the home side back and Park’s James Lindfield in the back row picked up the ball on the back foot.

Looking totally hemmed in, the open side flanker slipped out of the initial tackles and found the defence parting obligingly for him to skip through to the posts with a minimum of effort.

It was a really soft try and gifted Westbourne Park a 12-0 lead after 12 minutes.

At this stage, Richmond played their best rugby of the match, looking focussed and determined and playing to their strengths.

After 15 minutes, a training ground move resulted in Toby Henry providing quick ball to the backs, who passed the ball down the line with some deft handling.

Alex Maclennan’s final long, flat pass provided the vital momentum for Tim Cook to accelerate in to the corner for an excellent try and a 5-12 scoreline.

Five minutes later, Richmond scored again following a spell of pressure in the Westbourne Park 22.

Luke Cousins was denied a try by a marginal touchline decision but the forwards maintained the pressure and Adam Friel drove over well from a scrum-five for his first Richmond try, reducing the deficit to just two points.

However it was not one way traffic and Westcombe Park also had their moments of domination, camping on the Richmond line for one spell of three or four minutes, Richmond doing well to rebuff some concerted forward drives.

Unfortunately, problems were not over and five minutes before half time, the crucial third try was conceded. Nick Moore was correctly but unfortunately penalised for a very marginal tackle in the air, as he enthusiastically followed up a kick ahead.

Park kicked deep into the 22 and soon spun the ball out to the backs.

With Richmond streaming wide to cover the line, fly half Daniel Harvey slipped on the muddy surface but had the presence of mind to spot a gap close in and pop a pass to centre Nikki Davies who burst through under the posts.

Lee Audis’ conversion gave Park a disheartening nine point lead and things got worse when Adam Friel was surprisingly yellow carded one minute before half time.

Needing to ensure that the deficit did not get worse, Richmond did not need their second moment of self destruction. But it happened within five minutes of the start of the second half.

The Westbourne Park backs passed the ball down the line about thirty metres out and a bad pass forced full back Jaco Du Toit to stop in his tracks and pick up the ball, anticipating a collision with the onrushing defence.

However, the defence appeared frozen and Du Toit was gifted time and space to weave through for the fourth Park try and a convincing 26-10 lead.

From this point, Richmond dominated increasingly and did very well to close the gap to one point as conditions worsened, the game finishing in heavy sleet.

Matt Hart kicked a straightforward penalty after the Park open side was summarily yellow carded and then Ed Rosa, who worked hard throughout, bravely charged down a clearance kick and managed to touch down before briefly collapsing from the impetus.

With half an hour to go the score was 26-18.

Both Richmond wingers went close, Cook and Moore being tackled into touch.

But any score was always likely to be set up by the forwards, who were now enjoying regular possession.

Just before the half hour Matt Hart finally touched down on the blindside after good work by the pack, who patiently built pressure with strong picking and driving.

An excellent conversion made the score 26-25 with the best part of fifteen minutes to go. Richmond had a good chance to record a really commendable victory and they worked feverishly to score the conclusive points. Several opportunities were set up, especially a five metre line out from a wonderful Hart grubber.

But it was not to be. Too many errors at key moments intervened and the whistle was finally blown with tired Richmond bodies strewn around the pitch in disbelief and despair.

They could have and should have won, and the time to put things right is next Saturday at the earlier time of 2pm, when Clifton are visitors to the Athletic Ground.

Spectators can take in the League Game and then enjoy the England v Ireland game on the big screen in the clubhouse.

Tries: Cook, Friel, Rosa, Hart

Conversions: Hart

Penalties: Hart

Team: M.Hart, T.Cook, L.Cousins, A.Maclennan, N.Moore, S.Flynn(A.Saunders), T.Henry, A.Lyon, E.Rosa, A.Friel(D.Parkinson), H.Head, T.Wesley(G.Schueller), T.George, J.Downey, P.Clarke.