Their 21-0 defeat of Barnes could perhaps be highlighted as one of their best of the season, and with manager Dai Burton saying that the performance was at ‘the level of the first team about six or seven years ago’, few would argue.
| P | W | D | L | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 65 |
| Blackheath | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 63 |
| Jersey Athletic | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 53 |
| Esher | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 50 |
| Cinderford | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 47 |
| Ampthill | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 45 |
| Barnes | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 39 |
| Old Albanians | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 37 |
| Henley Hawks | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 37 |
| London Scottish | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 35 |
| Worthing | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 26 |
Having lost quite convincingly to the London-based outfit earlier in the campaign – a 40-19 reverse in September – Athletic bounced back with a solid showing both up front and through the back line.
Player-coach Nathan Kemp opened the scoring early in the first half following a period of forward dominance, and it was indeed the pack that also provided a try-scoring platform for winger Dan Lezala, who crossed over just before the break.
Brian Rennison followed suit with ten minutes remaining in the second period, and with Henry Frost and Ben De Figueiredo adding the extras it was most certainly a day to remember.
‘It was a very strong Barnes team,’ said Burton.
‘There’s very little difference between Barnes’ first and second teams, and their first team play in the same league as Guernsey. So it is a feather in the cap to beat a side like that … and to keep a clean sheet was great, particularly with our fringe players coming in.
With undefeated leaders Richmond due to visit St Peter this Saturday, Burton added:
