Hammers 1s rue missed chances

It was a a fine November day that Hammers returned to Fortress Hurlingham eager to claim some points from league new-comers, London Scottish Lions.

An attritional first half opened with Geoff sending the ball high into the Scottish 22, but a couple of early penalties gave the opposition a chance to kick deep into Hammer’s half. However, proving pressure does not always make diamonds, their 10 got greedy, kicking over the dead ball line. Scrum down hammers. Hammers were asking plenty of questions early on, with Josh and Luke providing some serious go-forward, and Chris cutting through the Scottish line. However, the Hammers were kept out by a series of penalties, pinched line-outs and handling errors. Scottish gained momentum, kicking deep into Hammer’s half, scoring through their second attempt at a maul, 5m out.

Kicking off again, Hammers maintained pressure, building phases. A penalty for a high tackle, put hammers 10m out for a driving maul giving the backs a platform. With Ryan’s calls to “straighten” the backs unleashed a slick move, with Nursey dotting down in the corner. Surprise! Pressure began to mount against Hammers again, despite Joe and Moli having more hits than George Michael, with Hammers’ penalty count keeping them firmly in their half. As the half drew to a close, some scrambling defence by the Dugdales, alongside some aggressive maul defence, saw Scottish held up.

The second half opened with a textbook exit, and more defence, with an innovative triple hit allowing Geoff to strip the ball. Some classy link-up play between Proctor and Josh saw Marshall and Nursey released down the wing, with big Luke held up over the line. Some more promising attacking play, was cut short by handling errors and penalties, seeing Hammers retreating into their half, being punished for an offside with a converted penalty kick. Another Scottish lineout through error, saw leaping Seb tapping the ball back to Zak, with Mr Positive, Rogan, continuing this momentum. Quick hands gave Max an overlap, scoring a try through blistering pace described by spectators as “nearly as quick as his brother”.

Hammers once again exited well through Moli, Rogan and Whittaker. Following some excellent attacking play, a scrum 5m out offered a chance to take the lead, however Hammers failed to capitalise on this as momentum swung back to Scottish. A breakaway try from the Scottish 9 at a scrum increased their lead. As the game came to a close, further error saw Scottish dot down again, this time through a pick and go following a penalty.

Final score Hammers 12 – 34 Scottish, in a frustrating result given 65 minutes of competitive rugby. Despite the result, there were some excellent performances from debutants Chris and Dan Ah Kuoi, and MOTM Nursey and Rogan.