Clinical Richmond enjoy road success

RICHMOND leapfrogged Darlington Mowden Park Sharks in the table with this victory on the road at Worcester Valkyries.

The visitors climbed to seventh as tries from Gaelle Mignot, Zoe Barber, Rowena Burnfield and Libby Povey (2) secured their win.

Brooke Clarke dotted down for Valkyries in what was an encouraging, but frustrating outing.

The game saw a balanced opening as both sides were able to get their hands on the ball, but Richmond struck first. Five minutes in, Mignot crashed over from close range to finish off a quick passing move that they fashioned down the right wing.

Soon after, a line break took the visitors into the hosts’ 22 before Barber threw a dummy pass to cross.

Valkyries finally turned pressure into points just after the 20-minute mark. After a few minutes of good phase-play, fly-half Rebecca Scholes spread the ball to Clarke in the corner.

The next ten minutes were very mixed for the Valkyries as, despite Scholes being sent to the sin-bin, they were dominant without scoring.

Instead, Richmond got their third try just before half-time. After multiple phases, Burnfield found a gap in the home defence.

Valkyries dominated much of the second half, but it was Richmond who took their chances, with Povey crossing twice.