Richmond head coach Geoff Richards has warned his side they need to be more ruthless after skipper Matt Hart got them off the hook with two late penalties to secure an 18-12 win over Lydney.

Richards’ men have made a winning start to their National League Division Three South return under the new coach to sit third in the table behind leaders London Scottish and Ealing.

Hart’s heroics landed a second triumph in two games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Rugby Lions, but the Athletic Ground chief insists shouldn’t have been so close.

“If we had taken our chances in the first half when we were dominant, we would never have been in that position,” he said.

“From a coaching perspective we need to become more ruthless, but from a playing point of view I was pleased with the way we kept going.”

Hart’s perfect record of six kicks from six attempts proved enough to see off Lydney, who had fought back from six points down to level the scores at 12-12.

And the narrow margin of victory was not lost on Richards, who could be without Michael Kedgley for the weekend after the back row star required ten stitches in his head following a sickening clash of heads.

“We would have been really annoyed if we had let that one slip having played so well,” he added.

Richmond’s next thee fixtures: Sept 20 Rugby Lions (a), Sept 27 London Scottish (h), Oct 4 Henley Hawks (a) Ends