PETER Sullivan scored a second successive hat-trick as Coventry Rugby returned to winning ways with a 52-17 bonus point victory at Richmond.
Sullivan crossed for three tries at Richmond Athletic Ground while Jordon Poole, Josh Barton, Ewan Baker, Matt Johnson and Sam Maunder all dotted down for the visitors.
The result means Coventry sit ninth in the Champ Rugby table as Alex Rae’s side claimed their first away win of the season.
Coventry scored the game’s first try after just seven minutes as Poole crashed over from a driving maul and Josh Thomas converted.
However, Richmond responded four minutes later when Alex Post burst clear down the blindside from the back of a maul with Coventry’s Dan Green in the sin-bin for a high tackle.
The visitors scored their second try on 21 minutes as Barton collected Tom Ball’s offload and dotted down as Tommy Mathews converted.
Richmond hit back four minutes later when George Nugent powered over the line and Callum Grieve added the extras.
And the home side lost Sam Pim to a yellow card for the final 10 minutes of the first half after he made a no arms tackle as Coventry took a two-point lead into the break.
However, the visitors struck just two minutes into the second period when Baker found a gap in the Richmond defence to dot down.
Coventry had Senitiki Nayalo sent to sin-bin minutes later following a succession of penalties close to the visiting lane as Chidera Obonna eventually touched down.
The visitors scored their bonus point try on 57 minutes when Johnson muscled his way over the line and Mathews converted.
And Rae’s side took control of the game four minutes later as Sullivan darted over in the left corner and Mathews added the extras.
Coventry crossed again on 64 minutes when Maunder ran in from 30-metres out with a clever faint following a scrum with Mathews again converting.
Sullivan scored his second try on 73 minutes after he received Dafydd-Rhys Tiueti’s pass and sprinted to the line.
And Sullivan completed a second hat-trick in as many games with three minutes remaining as he intercepted a long pass to run in a seventh try in two matches as Mathews converted.
Coventry are next in action against Hartpury on Saturday, November 8 with kick-off at 2.30pm at Hartpury College.
