WHAT Richmond were hoping would be a revenge mission turned into a day to forget on Saturday.
They travelled to Clifton for a National Two (South) clash against a side which beat them in the playoffs into the National Leagues three years ago.
On that occasion, neither side managed a try. On this, they shared 10 - but unfortunately, eight were scored by Clifton.
With skipper Henry Head suspended and Jono Farmer and Alistair Simmie also missing, Trevor Sadler was handed a debut and Juliano Fiori was restored to the side.
However, by the time Fiori touched down from Toby Henry's pass in the last minute of the first-half, Richmond were 35-3 down, Matt Hart having kicked an early penalty.
Richmond pulled another try back when Luke Cousins took a Henry pass to score, and Hart converted. But Clifton ran in three tries in the last 10 minutes to win 56-15.
Richmond's derby against Barnes tomorrow (Saturday) will kick off at 5.30pm so fans can watch England v Australia beforehand. [25cf] In the same league, Chris Ritchie's last-minute try at Ealing secured a 31-24 win for Rosslyn Park, after they had been pegged back from 23-7 to 26-22.
James Strong and Russ Forster both bagged tries, while Ross Laidlaw kicked 16 points for Park, who visit Bridgwater & Albion tomorrow.
Tries from David Howell, Simon Amor and Frankie Neale, who also kicked 12 points, saw London Scottish go second in National One with a 26-18 win over Cinderford. Scottish travel to Redruth tomorrow. [25cf] In the Championship, London Welsh head coach Danny Wilson branded Saturday's 20-9 home defeat by Doncaster Knights as the most dire performance of his year in charge.
Three Aled Thomas penalties were all Welsh, who play at Coventry tonight, had to show for their lack-lustre efforts.
Wilson said: "That was the worst London Welsh performance I've seen since I've been at the club - we lacked hunger and energy. It was a day to forget, but hopefully it was a one-off. Through a lack of desire, we just didn't produce the goods."
