It’s been a turbulent summer for Richmond. It began with them being ousted from the Premier 15s in April and then last month their head coach Mike Panoho stood down from his position.

However, their future is beginning to brighten with former Harlequins assistant coach Mark Cadogan being brought in to replace Panoho.

Some may question the decision to leave Quins, who remain in the Premier 15s, to take the role with a Championship side. But in an exclusive interview with NewsChain, Cadogan said ambition drove the move - both personal and for the club.

“The main reason for me as a coach, I was in an assistant coach role at Quins, albeit I was leading on the development squad and centre of excellence, but I wasn't the person that actually set the agendas,” he said.

"And while I had an input on selection and training, it wasn’t me that was driving that and I have my own ambitions. It's important to grow and test yourself and you know it's rare to get an opportunity to be a head coach at such a club as Richmond with such rich heritage and strong playing squad.

"So it is a very, very exciting opportunity and it was something I personally couldn’t ignore or pass up the ability to be the person who sets the style, the tone, the philosophy and helps create the culture.

“That is something I have always wanted to do in a head coach capacity, so for my own personal development it was a natural step for me.”

Cadogan has three years’ experience of playing against Richmond through his time at Quins.

He was involved the day Quins inflicted the second-worst defeat in the league’s history on Richmond as they lost 101-0 on the opening day of the season last September.

And while he won big that day, he has labelled the devastating defeat a ‘freak result’.

"I assisted on the Prem side and led on the development side that day and there were two significant scorelines. But if you look at the following week when Richmond played Saracens it was significantly less than that [Richmond lost 46-0 to Saracens] and Saracens are an outstanding side, they've been champions for the past couple of seasons.

"I think on day one of the season you can't really get a good measure of who you are necessarily. I think also at Quins everything we did seemed to come off and sometimes you get days like that and it’s unfortunate [for the other team].

"But you know what was really impressive was the resilience the players showed to come back and face the Premier 15s champions and put in a decent performance. So again these things are relative and I don’t think it’s indicative of an entire season or the capabilities of the squad.

“Absolutely there are areas for us to improve on, but I think I would consider that to be a freak result.”

That resilience is something Cadogan can harness as he sets out to achieve his ultimate goal with the club - claiming their Premier 15s spot back.

“There’s a three year cycle that gives us a great opportunity to reinvigorate the women’s section and also develop great existing talent,” he said.

"[We can] look towards helping those players realise their potential and get the squad as a whole to a point, come that next opportunity in three years, that we are absolutely in contention.

“So yeah, for me this is a minimum of a three-year project to get us to that point where we are competitive and viable for going back into the Premier 15s.

"From my perspective I want us to look forward. There are certain things that we as coaching staff and players can control and we really need to focus on that. For me the main thing is to look at the culture we have at the club.

"Look to grow and refine that. I want to create a culture that precedes performance in terms of our behaviours both on and off the pitch. The level of dedication from not only the players but the coaching and support staff, it’s about that focus and desire and drive.

“That level of commitment into what we do going forward because what we can’t do is change history. What we can do is determine where we go and how we do that so that will really be the main driver from my perspective.”

Another key element of improving the form of the club comes with Cadogan building good relationships with players.

Although only a few weeks into his new role, he is already finding his feet and has clear ideas of how he wants to operate.

"I think transparency, a level of honesty with the players. I think they need to be able to look me in the eye and same for me with them. Understand what my vision is, listen to what they have to say, their insights, what they want to achieve and also what I’m looking for from them. 

"That engagement isn't something that happens overnight, it won’t happen in one meeting. I think it’s something that will take a period of time to achieve but I’m confident that the players are keen to get back on the pitch and playing.

"Obviously we are constrained as to what we can do and in the absence of a confirmed return to play date or what our fixtures look like it's somewhat of a moving feast which is frustrating. So we are looking to do some wellbeing sessions with the players moving forward and we'll see where it goes from that. 

“I’ll get to know the players, I'll use this time wisely to understand who they are as individuals.”

The men’s Premiership does however have a return date - August 14 - so does Cadogan think the women’s game has been forgotten amid the pandemic?

"I wouldn’t say it’s been forgotten. I think, as with most sports, the priority is being focused on the top end with a view to try and get that back on course and in many instances that’s also a resource factor.

"The infrastructures and resources in terms of budget to actually put things in place for regular testing of players is quite significant and that’s a lot to put on some of the clubs that play in the amateur or community game.

"So I don't think it has been forgotten, I just think it's a gradual process that has to take its time because ultimately, sport aside, the key thing is that everyone is safe and we manage the virus in terms of its transmission and spread.

"If there are spikes, regardless of whether that's because the pubs are open or people invade the beaches, that affects us as a sport as well because then things get set back even more. 

“I think, while it is painful having to go through this process, it's better that we get it right first time round. Then, when we do go back, we go back and we stay back.”