Richmond 7 Rosslyn Park 47
Rosslyn Park showed no respect for rivals Richmond with a comprehensive derby victory that kept the pressure on league leaders Ealing Trailfinders.
Great work from two of our old boys at Twickenham today. As for us, just reliving last night…#lovethelights pic.twitter.com/nKBYwZGNsK
— Rosslyn Park (@rosslynpark) February 14, 2015
Dave Vincent was the star of the show with a four-try haul which means Park sit just four points behind Trailfinders ahead of next weekend’s visit of bottom side Macclesfield.
The first half was a pulsating affair, with some crunching tackles in the midfield. Park got on the scoreboard early when Scott Sneddon slotted through a penalty in front of the posts.
Soon after, Vincent carved open the Richmond defence with some incisive running and the ball ended up with Adam Field who finished in the corner with aplomb.
Richmond responded immediately and Rob Kirby was unfortunate to see his penalty attempt shave the post. They continued to pile forward in search of their first points of the match.
Chris Surman broke through the midfield and just as he was about to offload was clattered by full-back Nev Edwards, in what was surely a try-saving tackle.
Park tried to clear their lines but Richmond’s pressure paid off and Kirby buried a penalty to make it 8-3.
No catching me: Rosslyn Park’s Kiba Richards runs away from the Richmond defence
The game got a bit scrappy at this point with both sides vying for field position, with some bruising encounters between opposing forwards.
However, Park continued to display the differences that separated the sides. Another clinical break in midfield and Field was in again and Sneddon converted to make it 15-3 at the break.
The second half was a whirlwind performance from the Park backs and the hosts started brightly as Kirby scored another penalty, making it 15-6.
After this, it was all Park and some excellent play from the forwards released Edwards, who played in Vincent for a great team try.
More pressure at the breakdown followed and captain Hugo Ellis snuck over to make it 27-6 as the momentum shifted firmly to the visitors.
Park were now in total command and their backs showed off their impressive speed and handling skills.
They ran roughshod over the Richmond defence and Vincent bagged three tries in under ten minutes to complete an impressive personal display.
Feature picture of Adam Field scoring Park’s first try, courtesy of Rosslyn Park, with thanks
