Richmond director of rugby Steve Hill cursed his side's luck at Blaydon as three second half injuries cost his men dear.

The Athletic Ground outfit crashed to 26-19 National Division One defeat on Saturday, having led 5-0 at half time through a Ben Lonergan score.

The departures of Matt Keville, Jamie Thompson and Henry Cheeseman early in the second half proved costly as the hosts ran in three tries to race into a decisive 19-5 lead in their absence.

The injured trio did return to the fary as number eight Joe Burton and scrum half Jordan Burns hit back for Richmond either side of a Nathan Bailey score for the hosts.

But Hill admitted that the damage had already been done.

"This was a game we could and should have won," said Hill.

"To lose three players to injury at the same time was the turning point in the game. For the next twenty minutes we lost our defensive shape.

"I was really impressed with how we showed a determination to get something out of the game.

"With a tadge more fortune we could have secured a draw right at the end. Going forward we need to improve our precision in both attack and defence."