Skelcey wings in for hat-trick as Richmond suffer up front

AMPTHILL edged a topsy turvy game, recovering from a half-time deficit of 24-11 to cling to a two-point lead through tense final minutes.

The penalty count was decisive, with Richmond regularly pinged as the scrums went to ground in the second half.

Ampthill head coach Paul Turner said: “I’m delighted with the result. We have thrown away other games, so I was pleased we stuck in there after a soft first half.”

Ampthill centre Ben Cambriani was sent to the bin in the first minute for a high tackle and Richmond got an opening try from a neat lineout move through hooker James Hadfield.

Amps No.8 Cai Devine then broke the defensive line, leading to an opening penalty from Russell Bennett. Another penalty set the Ampthill pack up deep in the 22 before a long pass gave Joe Goodchild the chance to stretch over for an 8-5 lead.

From this point, Richmond dominated the rest of the first half. Ted Landray put his pack in a good position with the first of a sequence of excellent line kicks, and Mark Bright took the honours as the pack drove from the lineout.

The third Richmond try was the standout moment of the game with some lovely handling and players running on to the ball and changing the angle before skipper Cam Mitchell ran clear. They bagged their bonus point try in the 37th minute, Hadfield getting his second from another forward drive.

In the final moments of the half, Richmond lock Sam Collingbridge was sin-binned and a Bennett penalty closed the gap to 24-11.

Ampthill came out firing and reduced the gap when Devine made good ground to send in Skelcey under the posts. Another Bennett penalty followed, but Bright hit back with his ninth try of the season before the ping pong continued – Amps substitute Josh Sharp retaking the lead with another penalty.

After another collapsed scrum, resulting in a yellow card to Richmond loosehead Johnny Harris, Sharp found a neat angle to send in Skelcey for his hat-trick.

Richmond pressed, with Bright the inspiration, and added a 76th minute try by Mitchell, converted by Lewis Dennett, but Amptill held out.

Richmond coach Rob Powell said: “We scored 36 points, which should be enough, so we have to look at how we conceded penalties and allowed

them to score 38.”