Key component Portsmouth Rugby Club were evidently lacking as winning run was ended at Trojans

Richards' men failed in their bid to make it three league wins on the spin, as they were beaten 30-19 at their Eastleigh-based opposition.

Portsmouth have been hit with a spate of injuries in recent weeks as experienced players such as captain Greg Hoolihan (bicep), Adam Parks-Dare (double leg fracture), Elliott Worrall (broken rib) and Aaron Beesley (knee ligament damage) all remain sidelined at present.

And Richards felt a lack of know-how was glaringly missing in Portsmouth's defeat at Trojans. ‘I think more frustratingly from Saturday was about poor decision-making, we just didn't manage the game,’ said Richards.

‘I think when you look at the players we've lost over the past month, there's definitely a sense of lacking a bit of on-field leadership and experience in how to manage the game and understanding how to manage momentum - unfortunately we didn't do that Saturday.

‘The players that were there Saturday – their availability dictates – that's probably going to be the core bulk of our squad going forwards. Ability-wise they've got absolutely everything they need to be competitive, we just need to make better decisions on the field.’

Things had started so brightly for Portsmouth with Jashan Solanki's superb solo try and Anthony Fooks' score putting them 5-0 and 12-8 ahead in the early exchanges.

But Richards was less than impressed with how his side gifted Trojans a 22-12 half-time advantage before eventually going down 30-19 - with Max Clarke salvaging what proved a consolation try for the visitors in the second half.

Richards added: ‘We just made error after error behind our own 10-metre line, we just never cleared our lines effectively really, literally gift-wrapped them the tries they scored in the first half and gave them a 10-point lead at half-time. When you give a side a 10-point lead at half time you're always then chasing the game a bit. I feel like we really went down there and lost the game as opposed to Trojans winning it.’