Taunton 22 - Richmond 52 (Match Report)

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Taunton put in their best performance of the season so far, but succumbed to a 22-52 defeat when they entertained high-flying Richmond at Hyde Park on Saturday.

It was always expected to be a tough encounter after the results of recent weeks, with the hosts looking to turn their fortunes around whilst Richmond, a side steeped in history whilst playing at the top level, went into the game with maximum points from their played fixtures so far.

Despite losing flanker Justin Blanchet to injury in the opening two minutes, Taunton started the stronger of the two teams in the initial exchanges.

The solid Richmond defence kept the home side at bay as they patiently waited for their own chance with the ball in hand. When it came they made their first foray into the Taunton half through a break up the left flank. A Richmond lineout on the 22 was well taken and an organised forward drive to the try line saw Jamie Thompson being awarded the opening score, converted by Matt Keville.

The reliable boot of Yapp slotted a straight forward penalty to get Taunton’s first points of the afternoon after another promising period of sustained Taunton pressure forced the visitors defence to encroach the offside line.

The response from Richmond was immediate, with winger James Greenwood out jumping his opposite number Jack Claydon to win the restart. A sprint to the line drew the covering defence but a nice little inside offload to the supporting Thompson saw the flanker cross for his second. Keville could only watch as his conversion attempt ricocheted off the post.

A third Richmond try followed when prop Daniel Parkinson barged his way over after some poor first up tackles from the Taunton defence. Keville was successful with his kick to add the extras.

Taunton then had another long period of possession as they looked to pull a score back. The midfield partnership of Jason Luff and Christian Gervais ran with purpose, but were unable to unlock the well-organised Richmond defence. Sam Alford also went close, and forced the visitors to defend illegally, with Richmond hooker David Burr killing quick ball in the red zone and receiving a yellow card for his efforts.

The final ten minutes of the half saw Taunton camped in the Richmond half, and when a penalty was awarded at a scrum a quick tap by Dean Taylor-Mendes saw the all-action flanker burrow over for what seemed Taunton’s first try. However, the tap was taken behind the unsighted referee so the score was not awarded and the penalty pulled back to the official’s mark. The sides went in at the break with the score 3-19, but Taunton still very much in the game.

Taunton continued to search for the elusive score after the break but Richmond put the game out of reach with three more tries added in the opening ten minutes of the second half. Greenwood went over first in the left corner with little resistance for a try skilfully converted by Keville.

Two minutes later right wing Jonathon Webb touched down following a telling break from the impressive Harrison Edwards, breaching the desperate Taunton defence. Keville once again added the extras with another good strike from wide out.

The third could have gone to a number of Richmond players as they looked to attack the left flank once more. With the home defence in disarray and an abundance of numbers in attack it was full back Tom Chesters with the show and go to ghost through the gap and sprint in from thirty metres out. The conversion by Keville was successful and Richmond appeared to be in a commanding position.

However the next fifteen minutes belonged to Taunton, and this time they were rewarded for their efforts with the first of three tries when Taylor-Mendes burrowed over once more, this time the try was awarded. Yapp was successful with the conversion.

Two minutes later the hard working Luff added another following a scintillating break from hooker Rob Beddard. Sam Alford took the initial quick penalty offloading ten metres into his own half to Beddard, and the youngster punched a hole in the defensive line before offloaded to the supporting Luff to go over under the posts with Yapp converting.

Almost immediately after Alford made another break into the Richmond half and this time it was Luff who turned provider. A smart little grubber kick behind the defence was aimed for Rueben Haile to chase, and the continually impressive winger was happy to force his way through and touch the ball down over the line for an unconverted score, adding further to his ever-growing tally.

Richmond replied with two tries from Edwards. The first came when the number 8 picked up from the base of a five metre scrum to drive over. The second came five minutes later when he repeated his feat from a scrum in midfield going over under the posts. Replacement fly half James Brooks slotted the simple conversion to add the extras.

There was to be no further addition to the score thanks to hard-working defensive efforts from both sides. Taunton pushed for another score, which would have given them a 4-try scoring bonus point to take away from the game. Unfortunately this was not to be, with their last attack ending the game on a tight call for a forward pass with the line at their mercy.

It was another improved performance without reward for Taunton, whilst Richmond continued their 100% record of results and points in the league. The home team refused to give in throughout, and the positives are there to build on, but the momentary lapses in concentration need to be cut out. Looking at the league table Taunton have had a torrid time against four of the top five frontrunners and will be working extra hard this week to get things back when they visit a struggling Barnes team in London.

The County Stores sponsored man of the match for Taunton was Dean Taylor-Menzies.

Report By: Patrick Smidmore

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