A league victory away to Worcester was the perfect tonic for Richmond women at the start of their run of tricky league fixtures, and with a visit to Darlington for the rearranged league fixture, coach David Mobbs-Smith is targeting more success against a side just one point below them in the league.
“DMP will be a stern test away from home,” he said, “but the journey will be all the more worthwhile if another away win can be engineered against a very well coached and difficult side to beat at the Northern Echo Arena.”
With international call-ups accounting for four of his players, Mobbs-Smith has had to tweak the side that beat Worcester Valkyries last weekend, but there’s still a familiar feel throughout. Alice Soper returns to the front row for her second start, joining Gaelle Mignot – back from French camp for this game – and Laura Kapo, who scored a hat-trick in the return fixture. Sian Hobday comes in to join Claire Phelps in the second row, while Becky Ball comes in to add her strength to the back-row alongside Libby Povey and Zoe Barber, who picked up three tries between them last weekend.
In the backs, Jade Wong swaps the nine shirt for the 15, with Char Keane stepping in at scrum half. Elsewhere, it’s as you were last weekend, with Maria Gyolcsos and Rachel Laqeretabua out wide and the impressive duo of Alicia McComish and Vic Britland in the centres. Abi Chamberlain again runs the game from fly half.
The bench, meanwhile, sees three new faces in the first team, with Emily Adlam-Cook, Emma Quarterman and Emily A Stone all looking to impress. Steph Clarke and Courtney Treco complete a strong looking Richmond side, who will be hoping the weather doesn’t scupper their plans in Darlington again.
RICHMOND TEAM
15 Jade Wong
14 Maria Gyolcsos
13 Vic Britland
12 Alicia McComish
11 Rachel Laqeretabua
10 Abi Chamberlain
9 Char Keane
1 Alice Soper
2 Gaelle Mignot
3 Laura Kapo
4 Sian Hobday
5 Claire Phelps
6 Becky Ball
7 Zoe Barber
8 Libby Povey
16 Emily Adlam Cook
17 Emma Quarterman
18 Steph Clarke
19 Courntey Treco
20 Emily A Stone
Report courtesy of Richmond FC
