Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Richmond announce Championship squad after 'more than 34 weeks of unpaid pre-season training'

By Sam Smith
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Steve Hill has finally confirmed the Richmond squad that will take part in next month’s Greene King IPA Championship start nearly a year to the day since they played their last game in the prematurely ended National One campaign.

ADVERTISEMENT

Richmond were defeated 19-12 in front of 2,000 at Rosslyn Park on March 6, the night before England hosted Wales in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations. The remainder of the National One league was cancelled, leaving Richmond promoted but in limbo not knowing when their new season in the Championship would commence.  

It will now start with a March 6 away game at Hartpury before three home fixtures against Cornish Pirates (March 13), Jersey Reds (March 20) and Saracens (March 27) follow. 

Video Spacer

Wales coach on new Six Nations star Louis Rees-Zammit

Video Spacer

Wales coach on new Six Nations star Louis Rees-Zammit

For director of rugby Hill, it has been quite the unprecedented long wait to get going. “After more than 34 weeks of unpaid pre-season training it’s fantastic to announce our playing squad for what should be a very competitive season,” said Hill on the Richmond club website. “The players have trained exceptionally hard during difficult circumstances and deserve the opportunity to represent our club and the entire Richmond community.”

Captained by centre Cameron Mitchell, the squad includes a mix of players who have previously played for Richmond in the Championship and National League 1, as well as a number of new additions.

These new recruits include props Jonny Harris (London Scottish), Jake Byrne (Coventry) and Ben Christie (London Scottish), locks Sam Collingridge (London Irish) and Fred Hosking (Old Elthamians), back rows George Oram (Coventry) and Hamish Barton (Old Elthamians), scrum-halves Luc Jones (Jersey) and Callum Watson (Chinnor), fly-half Ted Landray (Old Elthamians), centre Chris Elder (Chinnor), wings Max Trimble (Coventry) and Alex Goble (Old Elthamians) and full-back Will Kaye (Loughborough Students). Hill leads a coaching group consisting of Rob Powell, Mark Matzopoulos, Ian Kench and Nic Rouse.

RICHMOND 2020/21 SQUAD:
PROP: Jake Byrne, Ben Christie, Sam Gratton, Jonny Harris, Jimmy Litchfield, Kurt Schonert, Timmy Walford;
HOOKER: Charlie Gibbings, Ross Grimstone, Callum Torpey;
LOCK: Alex Bibic, Sam Collingridge, Byron Hodge, Freddie Hosking, Myles Scott (also back row);
BACK ROW: Jack Allcock, Hamish Barton, George Oram, Jake Parker, Tom Pashley, Toby Saysell, Myles Scott, Jesse Liston;
SCRUM-HALF: Toby Dabell, Luc Jones, Callum Watson;
OUT-HALF: Benjamin Cook, Lewis Dennett, Tom Hodgson, Ted Landray;
CENTRE: Chris Elder, Oliver Evans, Dan Kelly (also wing), Cameron Mitchell;
WING: Jake Caddy, Alex Goble, Max Trimble, Ben Rath;
FULL-BACK: Hamish Graham (also wing), Will Kaye.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Luke Cowan-Dickie: 'I didn’t feel right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Everything was going black in front of me' Luke Cowan-Dickie: 'I didn’t feel right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Everything was going black in front of me'
Search