The day began as all great Hammers away days do: a coach full of high spirits, an enlightening quiz and the lads confident of bringing home the points. Quiz wise, the lads discovered that Gravesend is, in fact, not very interesting, while Tim Russell took the opportunity to host an entire round dedicated to himself. A hundred caps is a tremendous achievement, and rightly deserves recognition!
Tim Russell, receiving his 100th cap framed jersey
A minute’s silence before kick-off honoured a Gravesend legend, providing a fitting reminder of the respect and tradition at the heart of the game. Then came the whistle, and the Hammers were straight into the action.
The opening exchanges were frantic, with both sides coming out swinging in a chaotic first couple of minutes. Gravesend eventually settled, producing some slick hands before some sizeable Gravesend bodies bundled over from a lineout maul. The conversion drifted wide, leaving the Hammers with an early warning but only a five-point deficit.
Play went on — back and forth — including the curious decision to leave six-foot-nine Charlie Lang out of the defensive lineout. Why would you deploy a human flagpole when you could let the opposition have the ball? A tactical mystery.
Geoff demonstrated the considerable power of his boot, sending a kick so far it sailed beyond the dead-ball line. A tremendous effort, if not quite the desired outcome. Geoff would later claim Man of the Match for his overall control of proceedings nonetheless.
More Gravesend threats out wide, but Douglas Russell produced some excellent cover tackles to keep the Hammers well in the fight. Scrum wise, Andrew Rogan and Zak Underwood were putting in a serious shift — that’s about as technical as I can get when talking about props. Equally, Finn McCarthy continued to fire darts into the lineout, and Seb Rivett grafted away in the engine room.
The boys began absorbing pressure and counterattacking with real intent. The Russell brothers combined beautifully in a break that ate up 50 metres. Before an interception on the try line brought the attack to an abrupt halt.
Gravesend struck again with a well-worked backs move of the lineout to dot down in the corner, but the Hammers responded immediately.
Tim Russell, landed a tremendous smash tackle to force a knock-on, and Finn capitalised with a quick try, converted cleanly by Geoff.
At half-time, the score stood at Gravesend 10–7 Hammersmith. Three points in it, with plenty of rugby still to come.
Second half.
Gravesend came out firing, putting their sizeable Kiwi’s contingent to good use with some seriously heavy carries. Tom Richardson, driven by his Saffa spirit, responded with enormous hits and a general determination to make himself everyone’s least favourite opponent. Captain Proctor led from the front with consistent big tackles, while Chris “Mad Dog” Thompson— continued running through defenders as though they were a mere inconvenience to him.
The Hammers worked tirelessly to absorb the pressure, but a series of penalties allowed Gravesend to kick to the corner and drive over from a maul, extending the lead to 17–7.
God what next…
An unfortunate groin injury to Ted Shand then forced a reshuffle at number 10. Ted had shown slick hands and good distribution before his afternoon was cut short, with Dougie Russell stepping into the fly-half role and the boys adapting around him.
Despite the disruption, the Hammers continued to compete. Another penalty and a five-metre lineout gave Gravesend the opportunity to drive over for a further try, taking the score to 24–7. The scoreboard was beginning to look uncomfortable, but the Hammers were far from finished.
Antoine and Charlie continued to offer speed and power out wide. There was effort and promising attacking play; the growing challenge was turning that pressure into points, and quickly!
Then, with around ten minutes remaining, the Hammers collectively remembered they could — and probably should — win the match.
Suddenly, passes began to stick, tackles started landing, and the attacking intent that had been bubbling away all afternoon came to the fore. The boys started playing with real pace and purpose, and Gravesend were forced onto the back foot.
First to strike was Dan Perry, who picked a devastating hard line and beat four defenders in a magnificent run to the try line. A superb individual effort, full of power and determination. Geoff added the extras to make it 24–14.
The momentum had shifted. The Hammers were moving the ball with confidence, the forwards were carrying hard, and the backs were finding space as the Gravesend bodies tired.
The pressure mounted, and a lineout five metres from the Gravesend line offered another opportunity. After some good patience on the Gravesend try line, Whitaker took charge, bringing his considerable driving power to bear as the forwards piled in behind him. The Hammers surged over for another try, cutting the deficit to 24–19.
Suddenly, a game that had looked beyond reach was very much alive, and the travelling support could smell an unlikely comeback.
Alas, it was too late.
Unfortunately, the final whistle arrived before the boys could complete the turnaround.
Full-time: Gravesend 24–21 Hammersmith.
Gravesend took the points; the Hammers took the lessons.
Back on the bus, spirits remained high. Songs were sung, merriness ensued, Lambrini changed hands, and bin bags were deployed.
The boys go again next week, ready to right the wrongs and turn those final-ten-minute fireworks into an 80-minute performance.
A special final shoutout of course going to 100 Clubsman Tim Russell.
Up the Hammers!
