It wasn’t, in all honesty, the greatest game ever played. But never mind that. For Richmond and London Scottish on Saturday all that counted was winning – or, more to the point, not losing. There are big-match nerves and then, on another level, there are playoffs against bitter rivals where the mere notion of defeat is unthinkable.
Welcome to the kind of buttock-clenching drama that, in theory, is going out of fashion. All the talk lately has been about franchises and closed leagues, rather than jeopardy and uncertainty. Well, here was the alternative scenario in the shape of the first relegation playoff in the English second tier. So much for those who perceive the supposedly unsexy club game below elite level to be lacking in passion, emotion or relevance.
It was all in stark contrast to the previous night’s Prem match between Northampton and Bristol. In theory there was loads at stake in terms of playoff permutations, but that version of the script lasted barely 15 minutes. Saints were 61-14 up at half-time and won 94-33, the kind of one-sided mismatch that ultimately does nobody – the league included – any good.
To attend both games was to visit two different planets. Some of Northampton’s handling, high-speed support, offloading and angles of running on Friday evening were off the scale. Bristol can also attack sweetly but, defensively, it was akin to watching a colander trying to contain a fast-moving river. And, after a while, about as competitively unsatisfying.
The Richmond Athletic Ground was another world entirely. Large chunks of the action were clunky, staccato and imperfect, but, in the wider scheme of things, that was a minor detail. The most striking thing was how much the outcome really mattered to both teams. One of London Scottish’s senior officials confessed he had been thinking about nothing else all week, with the club’s entire season on the line.
Right there is the contradiction with which rugby continues to wrestle. Is it all about the product on the field, eye-catching tries and seeking to appeal to floating voters with ever-shortening attention spans? Or is it, ultimately, about prioritising the “j” word? Even the most beautiful sport in the world loses some of its lustre in the absence of that most crucial of ingredients.
That was certainly how it felt in Northampton. Not so much at the RAG. In the interests of full transparency it should be noted that our youngest lad plays for Richmond, giving this traditionally feisty derby (Scottish were once co-tenants at the RAG, but these days they rent the ground from their neighbours and train elsewhere) an even keener edge. Professional neutrality, for once, was temporarily suspended for 80 minutes in our section of the main stand.
The past nine months have involved plenty that casual fans do not always see. The freak injuries, the rehab, the long road trips as far afield as Penzance and the Wirral, the good days and the bad ones, all while holding down a busy day job. Richmond have the lowest playing budget in the league, which means significant commitment and team spirit are required to compete against full-time pros.
Over the past few weeks, Richmond have come up against players of the pedigree of Noah Caluori, Semesa Rokoduguni, Telusa Veainu, Logovi’i Mulipola, Matt Kvesic, Josh Bassett, Jack Bracken and Siva Naulago. London Scottish’s squad on Saturday included three players on Harlequins’ books, two from Bath and one from Edinburgh. Anyone who assumes the Champ is filled with mediocre players has not been paying attention.
Which is what also elevates occasions such as Saturday’s showdown. Finally, some effort has been made to elevate the Champ’s profile. Informal feedback to the Rugby Football Union also suggests that, at all levels, end-of-season playoffs are resulting in larger crowds and extra interest. All at a time when the top of the domestic game is looking to embrace a franchise model without relegation, citing financial necessity and more investor certainty.
But where would you rather be paying your money to go and watch: a league where a team can endlessly keep losing and never go down or one where everyone is frantically checking the league table every week?
The Richmond boys are a good-humoured bunch, but they need to be. It requires real character to slog up and down the country through a 26-game regular season before the playoffs even start. And what about their family and friends? That Friday night draw in a monsoon at Hartpury or watching on Clubber TV as they fell agonisingly short at Caldy and Nottingham. As for the unstinting physical commitment of willing forwards in Jake Monson, Sam Pim and Luke Spring, they all deserve a medal.
Hence why days like Saturday can resonate every bit as much as the closed-shop, rarefied Prem. Richmond’s teamsheet, to reinforce the theme, also featured the son of our former village publican and one of our son’s mini-rugby teammates from Salisbury RFC. For good measure it was a farewell game for the team’s captain, Luc Jones, son of the former Wales international and coach Lyn Jones, and a number of other squad members.
And guess what, dear reader? There was to be a happy ending as Richmond ran out 34-11 winners to retain their place in the Champ next season. In all the celebratory singing, though, there was also sympathy for the losers. Scottish must now endure another week of purgatory before Saturday’s “accession final” against Blackheath from National One. Some are dubbing it the “£200,000 match” because of the potential differential in funding, sponsorship and other financial aspects. Relegation may also mean Quins loan the Exiles fewer players, though Scottish sources insist they will be looking to bounce back to the Champ immediately should they be relegated.
Whatever happens, the moral of the story is a simple one: the greater the jeopardy, the more compelling the rugby experience.
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