What a glorious day of rugby!

The sun was shining down on Fortress Hurlingham yesterday when the teams arrived to warm up. A warm up which was extended when the ref’s arrival was slightly delayed. But this delay didn’t impact the Hammers’ preparation, the team remaining focused, knowing that we needed to bring the intensity from the first whistle. And bring it we did with Kaye smashing her way over the Wimbledon line within the first 5 minutes. A lovely conversion by Chloe J was followed up by an equally lovely penalty kick to keep the scoreboard pressure on Wimbledon at 10-0. Hammers didn’t let up there with sustained pressure on the Wimbledon defense (including what was definitely a try by Katherine) ending with Ella crossing the whitewash, converted by Chloe to make it 17-0. Chloe E was next to get in on the action with her fast feet dancing past the Wimbledon backs to give us a 24-0 lead with Chloe J’s conversion. Strong work from the Hammers scrum put Wimbledon under more pressure in their own half and getting the ball to within a metre of the line. Strong pick and go work from the forwards ended with Charlotte hammering the ball over for a lovely score to end the first half 31-0.

The second half began as the first half finished with Chloe J this time the one to make the score. Hammers kept piling the pressure on in the Wimbledon half with excellent scrums and strong work in the breakdown keeping our ball secure. This pressure told with Tappers launching across the line to score, more than making up for her denied try in our last match. A conversion from Chloe J making it 43-0. Our discipline started to fray slightly in the last 10 minutes of the game with Wimbledon getting several penalties in a row, allowing  them to make ground into the Hammers 22. After an incredible defensive effort on the line, including a great Chloe E tackle that stopped a certain try, Wimbledon eventually managed to cross the line to score. Final score 43-5.

Forward(s) of the match – Fred and Candace for incredible work rates, strong carries and tackling

Back of the match – Chloe E for great kick chasing and follow up tackles to help keep the pressure on Wimbledon

After the previous weekend’s win over Battersea Ironsides, Hammersmith and Fulham looked to take on second-place London Welsh, themselves coming to the game having lost to a tough Medway. Walking into Old Deer Park on that Saturday afternoon with the sun shining and a gentle breeze, Hammersmith and Fulham had quiet confidence that they could come away with a big win, as it had all the marking for a great day for rugby.

Taking the pitch with both sets of fans roaring for their teams, Hammersmith received the ball in their half and exited well, making Welsh play from just inside their half. Welsh began to get in their attacking structure early, going through phases until an opportunity out-wide and a missed Hammers tackle let them in.  The kick was good, giving Welsh a 7-0 lead.

The Hammers’ restart did not go well, – straight into touch.  The resulting Welsh scrum on the halfway line led to Welsh looking to strike another blow but Hammersmith’s defence forced them to cough up the bal. Quickly, Ross Anderson stepped up and put a quick crossfield kick in for Rich Vaughan on the wing, who chased hard and caused his opposite number to knock it on.  Recovered by Hammersmith, the boys looked to for width and ran hard.  Close to the line, a well-timed switch by Ross led to a 2-on-1, only to see the Welsh fullback slap the ball down down 5 meters out.  Promptly shown a big slice of cheddar (not the last slice to be given out today), Welsh’s luck held with a missed lineout from Hammersmith allowing them to exit.

Welsh looked to bring more pressure through their attack but the Hammers defence stood strong, forcing them back to their own half.  A rushed box kick from the welsh 9 fell into Tim Russell’s hand, which allowed the back three to expose the broken Welsh line, moving the ball to the wing to find Captain Joe Carolan with eclectic feet and pace to beat all challenges and run in for Hammersmith’s first try.  The kick? Missed – 7-5.

Welsh’s restart kicked long but Hammers won a penalty of the first phase allowing a nice exit. Welsh then stole the ball back and looked to make inroads into the Hammersmith defence again.  A number of strong tackles from the Hammersmith line left the Welsh looking to go wide, only for the ball to catch Tim Russell’s hand – he is sent to the walking for a 10-minute break on the side-line as the ref shows his second yellow card. Following this now with a man down Hammersmith and Fulham showed so great defence until the numbers got too much and Welsh went in again on the outside. 14-5.

The game was really starting to heat up and it looked like it could be a game for the ages with strong coming attacks from both sides as well as dynamic running.  A mid-field scrum allowed Hammersmith a platform to launch a try-scoring attack but the debutant Matt Killeen, could not pull in the last pass. Scrum to Welsh; the box went up landing in Tim’s hands, he quickly went upside-down as the Welsh player tip tackled him only to be subsequently sent off the pitch for 10 minutes with some cheddar of his own.

Welsh started giving away a flurry of penalties, but the Hammers could not break through and Welsh would keep smashing the ball as long as possible with the clearing kicks, answered by the Hammers  back three of Tim, Rich, and Matt to put some pinpoint kicks in return.

With the first half coming to the close and with tired bodies on both sides, Welsh han an opportunity for one last score after a missed call by the Hammers backs saw the ball flying off over the dead ball line. The 5-meter scrum pushed over, the Welsh scored again, and the afters made it 21-5 going into the sheds.

The second half started with speed as Hammersmith looked to bounce back.  a sharp line out on the welsh 22 allowed Rob Vaughan to galop his way into the corner with the Mullet in full flow and keeping the winger and fullback at bay! Try!! Carolan steps up from the sideline and slots the kick to make it 21-12.

With Hammersmith conceding a penalty at scrum time, welsh looks to go to the corner. The maul was met and stopped by Hammersmith, but after throwing as many bodies at it, that allowed the welsh winger to go over in the corner.  The kick this time missed, making it 26-12

Moving into the last 20 minutes of the match Welsh started to pressure the Hammers try line but with some stoic defence, Welsh elected to take 3 points and make the score 29-12. From the kick-off is Hammersmith looked to start firing on all cylinders, push on the welsh line, and get a scrum 5 meters out. The scrum platform allowed Matt Killeen to go over in the corner after some sharp lines from Pete Bicknell and fast hands again from Joe Carolan ad Tim Russell. Kicked missed making it 29-17.

Straight off the kick-off, quick hands allowed Tim Russell to get loose and make vast amounts of ground and push deep into the Welsh half, with Angus “Honk” Brown adding his barrelling run. Hammersmith looked to capitalise as Welsh give away a penalty, with Ben Dugdale quickly tapping and going and putting us on the front foot.  Alex Spicer and Tom Proctor threw their bodies into carries, then the ball flies outback and with a half break and an offload, Matt Killeen goes in again for his second, (should have been third). The kick is good 29-24.  Can Hammersmith and Fulham pull this one back from the brink?

The boys certainly felt we could – the restart cames and again quick hands looking to make holes in the defence of Welsh, but better yet a penalty!!! A big kick gave us some good mid-field ball off a line. Another big carry from Pete Bicknell, like he had done all day. But a miss-targeted offload almost lead to another slap down but the welsh players came up with it. Time was up and with a kick to touch that was the game, 29-24

On Saturday, Hammersmith and Fulham 2^nd XV hosted Chiswick 2^nd XV in the final league game of the year. With the competition standings still undecided, there was everything to play for.

Due to the number of changes to the 2s squad, since the London Welsh game, the conventional warm up was forgone and replaced with a classic “state your name” introductory school circle. Following the exchange of pleasantries, the standard preparation resumed, but it was clear that the team was struggling to find that final spark that would bring their game to life.

Nevertheless, the game kicked off, with Hammersmith playing into the blinding sun as well as against the tempestuous wind. It was clear that the boys were facing an uphill struggle as no more than five minutes into the game, Chiswick broke the white line following an interception from just within the Hammer’s half. The attrition of the game began to take its toll on the Hammersmith forwards as both Milo Storey and Oliver Whitnell were forced to leave the field early to enjoy the ambience of A&E. We are wishing them both a speedy recovery.

The difficulties to connect that the 2s felt pre-game, clearly had carried over into the game. Despite lots of possession within the Chiswick 22, Hammersmith and Fulham squandered numerous opportunities due to poor handling, silly penalties and an errant lineout throw from Hugh Symons that landed at the feet of Max Dugdale, our fly half, securing Hugh his award of DoTD. These struggles weighed heavy on the team entering half time, however, the spirited, positive interpersonal skills of Nugget and Cookie brought some wind back to the sails of the 2^nd XV.

Those sails were immediately torn as Chiswick capitalised on a Hammersmith yellow card, scoring under the posts and turning the screws on the 2^nd XV. The game remained physical and closely contested as the game ticked over to 60 minutes with the scoreboard showing 12-12 and as the season hung in the balance both teams fought hard to break the deadlock.

It is difficult to pinpoint the factor that turned the game in the Hammer’s favour. Some would suggest it was a lightning-fast hat-trick from MoM player Ed Hayes or well worked tries for Sam Nursery and Luke Kavanaugh. Most rugby critics would agree that it was the ability of impact substitute Dougie Maxwell to stand at the back of a maul and fall over the line to score the penultimate try. Who can say? In the final quarter of the game, the stars aligned and the team found its chemistry to pull five late tries out.

The score does not represent the game and credit must be given to Chiswick for a hard-fought game to the very end. As the final whistle heralded the end of the game, the Hammersmith crowd let out a sigh of relief as the 2^nd XV managed to secure the winning bonus point. The 2^nd XV now look forward to their cup and playoff campaigns.

MoM: Ed Hayes

DOTD: Hugh Symons

Match Report – Fulham 3s v Ealing Trailfinders 2s –

It was a grim old day in Fulham with trees on the tracks and rain lashing the brunching crowd down the Munster road as the ongoing wave of storms and wind continued to harry the flanks of the fair British Isles. The Hammers though are not to be put off by a small thing like a once in a 100 year storm and wind speeds above the hundred miles an hour. As the female contingent of the club battled their way to the Ralston to steady there nerves and spirits, prior to a mammoth pitch side attendance in the pissing rain to cheer the lads on, at Hurlingham the third fifteen got off to a shaky start. In the warm up we they suffered their first of 3 hospital level injuries of the day occurring before we had even began (Adam Standard coming down unluckily off the top of a lineout breaking an ankle and starting the newly formed Chelsey and Westminster hospital Saturday night club). After some rapid phone calls, Milo Story answered and braved the weather to bolster the hammers bench back to full strength. In contrast Ealing where down in full force with coaches on the side-line and all.

Prior to the game a minutes silence took place in memory of, Evesham RFC’s, Jack Jeffery and the Hammers retired the 11-shirt form the field for the game as a mark of respect. Ealing had won the toss but chose to play with the wind meaning hammers took the kick off which was given fully welly to account for the wind that at that moment chose a prime opportunity to drop off seeing the ball soar straight into touch. Starting the first of what was a long and heavy scrummaging game and a tough day in the office for the Hammersmith front row. The challenge was compounded at the ten minuet mark when Nick Turner joined the Chelsey and Westminster hospital Saturday night club with what was believed to be a torn calf and ended up being both that and the second broken ankle of the day. The loss off the only front row replacement left Hammersmith’s pack digging deep whilst Ealing capitalized by using the 4 front row on their bench to create a revolving door of changes every 20 min.

With the challenging gale-forces, disrupting the aerial game and lineout alike, what was set to be a very tough game of attrition was on the thrust and drive of rucking play was in full swing. The momentum being shifted when in a hit worthy of a place in the story of David and Goliath Tom Greenwood floored Ealing’s 8 and began a hammers attack that saw him dually rewarded with a try and hammers only trip over the hallowed white line of the day.  The conversion was deftly slotted despite the conditions by Nick Emmet who’s boot carried the hammers through the day when it also slotted a penalty in the closing minutes. A concern was had that this may go to Nicks head and was whole heartedly confirmed when he was heard to report “did I get both the kicks in that weather? Course I did, I am basically a better looking Jonny Wilkinson”.

Ealing came back well from the first try pressuring hammers poor kick receipt and using the wind direction advantage well. A massive defensive effort from across the hammers held the line well, with special mention to some massive hits from Harry Bower that along with his carrying and shoring up of the scrum from the second row earned him Man of the match. Eventually though the pressure reached a boing point for both teams resulting in Simon Irwin demonstrating his boxing training on the field a week earlier than his big fight though luckily outside of the eye line of the referee, an easier DoD was never to be seen. Ealing continued to press the packet and after a further 10 min of pressure, where rewarded in the corner though the maelstrom of weather denied them the conversion.

Half time 7-5 to hammers.

The second half continued in the theme of the first with relentless scrummaging and tight play from both sides moving up and down within the centre field and not really breaching either teams 22. Around ten minutes into the half the Chelsey and Westminster hospital Saturday night club gained its final 3s member for the day with Daniel Gispert fracturing a shoulder. The Hammers started to flag with the breakdown turning scrappy and our own ruck not being cleared, the team rallied through a the cheers from the hammers ladies charged with post lunch spirit, and the lads drove forwards breaking into Ealing’s 22 five minuets prior to the final whistle. Rewarded with the previously noted penalty the hammers went into the dying minuets of the game 10-5.

Ealing where not to be cowered though, they pressured their own kick off well with a catch challenge that if not for an unfortunate nock on would have had their flanker levelling the score. The referee called last play as the scrum set to rumble for the millionth time, to hammers dismay the most critical scrummage of the day was the only one lost against the head. Ealing could sense hammers fatigue and where poised to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They were 20 meters out and retaining there ball well on pick and goes. On the fourth attempt, the two players rucking over only played lip service to their task and skipper Matthew Jones managed to clear them through the middle recovering the ball to Hammers. This caught his own team of guard in the panicked few seconds that followed the ball was eventually knocked forwards unceremoniously ending the game and giving the Hammers a truly hard fort win.

Final Score 10-5

Tries – Tom Greenwood

Conversion – Nick Emment

Penalty- Nick Emment

Man of the Match – Harry Bower

DoD – Simon Irwin for taking his boxing training to the field

 

 

 

After a comfortable win against a depleted KCS last weekend, the Hammers were determined to maintain this run of form and take this renewed momentum into the game against Guildford. It wouldn’t be a clear path, as no path is in this league, especially as Guildford were fresh of the back of having turned over London Welsh. The last time we met, it came right down to the final whistle after a spirited fight back from Guildford nearly saw them steal 3 points from The Hammers. In many ways, the nail-biting end to the last meeting would ultimately be the writing on the wall for our second encounter.

In what was one of the strongest and fastest starts to the season, the word on everyone’s mind (thanks to Steve Harris having repeated it 48 times during the warm up), was accuracy. This word encapsulated the first 10 minutes. Hearty goal line defence, ultimately led to a turnover for the Hammers and an additional 60 metres in territory thanks to a Joe Carolan banana kick special. After a textbook line out call, Zander collected the ball with panache welcoming his counterparts to a driving maul that replicated the power and speed of a rumbling Sherman tank. After a line-breaking, positive carry through the heart of the Guildford Centre partnership from Cillian, we were on top of them. After another rumbling line out drive, rolling and spinning out of danger and passing the ball back with precision, we eventually dotted down over the line. Gus finishing off what had been an impressive passage from Hammers. After JC added the extras, Hammers led 7-0 with only 6 mins gone.

Despite the momentum swinging strongly in the favour of Hammersmith and Fulham, following the rampant start that had earned them the lead, it wasn’t to be held for long. After what had initially seemed like an impenetrable wall of defensive strength, Guildford were beginning to uncover the chinks. After a missed tackle from Henry “likes to tackle too high” Martin, Guildford were on the front foot, and following two successful, well placed offloads, were in under the sticks. With no dramas on tough angles, the extras were added and the game was back to even-stevens at 7-7.

The game was shaping up to be a great game for the neutral. After some sustained “fight back” pressure in the opposition half, Hammers won a well-deserved penalty that JC converted to add another 3 to the scoreboard and put Hammers back in the driving seat. Despite this early excitement, what ensued was frenetic and panicked play from both sides. Several times Hammers strung together double figure phases, but didn’t seem to be going anywhere or making any yardage. What frustratingly followed time and time again was a turnover or a mistake that gifted possession back over to Guildford. The one saving Grace, was that Guildford’s line-out ball was as good as Hammer’s line-out ball with the Hammer’s line-out organisation performing as a finely oiled machine.

Guildford were much the same, with several clean line breaks ultimately leading to very little, despite their “French of old” style offloading strategy making them yards. Hammers scrambled well defensively, but as Clarkey pointed out on the sideline, you shouldn’t have to “scramble well” if you’re first up tackling is stronger. To add further speed bumps to the mix just before half time, Cillian and Henry both went down with shoulder injuries, and with no backs subs to come in and fill the positions, Harry “would actually probably prefer to be a centre anyway” Scar stepped up to the mark. Half-time score, 10-7.

Fresh out of the changing rooms, both teams were determined to shake up the rhythm of the game and style of play that had plagued the first half. Admittedly this was to no avail, and after 15 minutes of further sparring, Guildford were the team to make the breakthrough. After several phases of spirited Hammers defence, Guildford’s winger capitalised on a heavy overlap to dot over in the corner. With a harsh wind and a tough angle, the extras went begging. 10-12 to Guildford.

As if sparked back into life, Hammers started playing again. Several carries from Tim “Neowww” Russell scared the living life out of the Guildford back three, a fear that eventually came to fruition when a blind-side set piece move off the back of a strong Hammers scrum went from Ben England, to Rosco, to Hoops who delightfully put away Tim into the corner (carrying three of the Guildford players with him). With a difficult kick to come, everyone knew just how important an additional 2 could be on a game this tight. JC, unphased by the difficulty of the kick, slotted it with perfection and brought Hammer’s important added extras. 17-12 to Hammer’s, with half an hour to go.

The final half an hour would be a tough affair with Guildford determined to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But with every Guildford carry, Hammers met them with line speed and determination to continue to hold out. Sean “I hurt my back not playing rugby” McMahon and Alex “whiter than white” Hart in particular were hungry to send someone to the ER. There was also an iconic try saving moment from Rich “wonder who his brother is” Vaughn which was met without thunderous cheering from the sidelines and the pitch.

One of the standout moments of the game, that will no doubt go down in the annuls of Hammers history as being marred with controversy, came in the final 10-mins and may well have proved the difference. After a lovely hold up pass from Zander, Marshall “prefers touch” McCloud showed a majestic turn of pace to get outside the last defender and to twinkle-toe his way down the touch line. Despite raucous celebrations and cheers of elation to all who witnessed it, the fairytale was not meant to be. A late swing of the arm from the Hammer’s linesman would deny what would likely have been the try of the game and the deal sealer.

As if M Night Shyamalan was writing the script, there was one last plot twist that would throw the result on its head. After unsuccessfully securing the last scrum on a Hammers put in, one last opportunity presented itself to the Guildford players. With the clock in the red, Guildford mounted one final assault at the Hammers gate, and after several phases of offloads and gain line attack, managed to force themselves over in the corner. 17-17, with the kick to come. In what appeared to defy the laws of physics and kicker ability, what seemed an impossible kick, crept its way over and the final whistle blew. 17-19, to Guildford RFC.

With points unsecured, and Hammers 4th place credentials hanging in the balance, it’s time for the Hammers boys to lick their wounds clean ahead of what will be a tough away game against Chichester next week.

 

Full time: Hammersmith and Fulham RFC 17 – 19 Guildford RFC