Richmond director of rugby Steve Hill has challenged his men to be at their confrontational best when they travel to second placed Rosslyn Park on Saturday.

Hill rang the changes to end a run of back-to-back defeats with a 36-27 win over old derby rivals Blackheath at the Athletic Ground.

Tries from Chris Davies, Andy Hall (two), Joe Burton and Will Browne secured maximum points and there were league debuts for centre Jono Woodward and replacement hooker Jay Rudland-Thomas.

Flanker Tom Shaw, in his first league start of the campaign, collected a man of the match award for his troubles in a game Richmond should have had done and dusted well before full back Rob Kirby’s late penalty finally made the game safe.

Richmond had won their opening five games before defeats to Ealing and Coventry and, while Hill delighted with his side’s return to form, he insisted they would need a repeat performance at the Rock this weekend. 

“We got back to playing how we did in the opening month of the season,” he said.

“I wanted an improvement in physicality and intent and the whole squad delivered.

“The change in personnel added a muscular edge to our play which was required against a resilient Blackheath team.

“The challenge is to retain these levels of aggression and confrontation at Rosslyn Park.”