Richmond make the short trip to Rosslyn Park on Friday night with a score to settle says Cameron Mitchell.

Despite sitting ten points clear of their fierce rivals at the top of National League One, Richmond’s captain admits the 13-18 defeat at the Athletic Ground earlier in the season is still a sore subject.

Travelling to The Rock on Friday night, Mitchell admits his side are continually improving and victory over Park on their way back to the Rugby Championship would be even sweeter.

“It's a local derby, there’s always a score to settle, it gives you extra motivation go out there and get a win,” he said.

“I can’t wait, it’s always great to play in a local rugby, but under the lights on a Friday there’s always a better atmosphere.

“There’s always a bigger crowd in the derby which makes it a bit more special.”

'We can be better'

Richmond are heavy favorites going into the fixture having won their last eleven outings, and Mitchell still believes there’s more to come from his side.

“We lost a lot of players at the end of last season through retirement and players moving on, so this year was a rebuilding season.

“I don’t think we are happy where we’ve got to, there are improvements to be made an we can be a much better team.

“We have some fantastic coaches that bring the best out of the lads, maybe we don’t have the biggest names in the league but you can’t fault the effort or commitment of our players to the club.

“A lot of us have been in the Championship and realised there’s no merit in focusing on the opposition, so we just keep focused on us.”

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Park’s three game winning streak came to an end on Saturday as they fell to a 24-21 defeat at Chinnor, making victory over their West London rivals crucial if they are to reel Richmond in with just six games remaining.

“Our mindset doesn’t change,” Mitchell added.

“Obviously it’s an important game in terms of relevance to the league for them, but we’re not losing focus on what the job at hand is ourselves.”

Tickets are available for Friday’s fixture between Rosslyn Park and  Richmond at rosslynpark.co.uk.