Hammers 4th XV show their class

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On a brisk Saturday afternoon, the Hammers lads travelled away to Twyford Sports ground to face Wasps 2XV. A game where revenge was sought for the previous home defeat against a strong side. As the boys entered the grounds, harassed to pay an entrance fee (obviously the visible athleticism was going a miss), a noticeably large crowd awaits. Unfortunately for them, they were not there to witness Doug Maxwell’s finest Nicola Sturgeon look but the Ladies Premiership match.

Nonetheless, after a vigorous and loud warm up the Hammers’ team looked sharp and ready to face their opposition. With the game kicked off and the sun behind our backs, Hammers began to play some superb rugby, sticking to structure and stretching the opposition from touchline to touchline. After several phases, James Mitchell made a strong break through the smaller backline and great support play from Nick Turner resulted in a glorious try. Hammers’ increased their grip on the game with a length of the field effort from Matt Stevenson and a well worked try in the corner for George Nellany. Ed Haynes showed nimble footwork to step a number of Wasps’ defenders in space equivalent to a phone booth to race away for a try. Matt Stevenson managed another try, created through hard work from the forward pack, carrying hard to get front foot ball. Some crunching hits form Matt Durrant and Jakob Terry to name a few, provided the boys’ with great spirit and left Wasps’ dazed and clueless as to how to make breaks. Adam Heaps managed a solo effort, dummying his opposing number before rounding the fullback and showing some unexpected wheels. Replacements came a calling just before the sliced orange break with Matt Stevenson making an impressive solo break, only to go down like he had been shot by a sniper

The second half brought about the challenge of playing into a blinding sun and against a challenging wind. Wasps rejuvenated by the half time break managed to string together some promising phases of rugby, even managing to cross the Hammers’ line only to have it called held up. Hammers’ scramble defence was on full show throughout the early stages of the 2nd half. Unfortunately, a run of successive team penalties and Adam Heaps getting pinged for a high tackle led to the fly half getting put in the sin bin. As Adam went off and take up role of nominated team medic, the rest of the team held firm, riding out the opposition’s pressure. Even down to 14, the Hammersmith and Fulham boys managed to run in another 2 tries by Ed Haynes including a great defensive read leading to an intercept and 2 for Jamie Drysdale. Wasps’ hampered by a Tyson Fury wannabe (red card) managed to sneak a consolation try to finish the game 62-5.

A great win for the boys in red and thoroughly enjoyable to get one back from earlier in the season. Onto the next week before a well earned Christmas drinking break.

Tries: Nick Turner, Matt Stevenson x2, George Nellany, Adam Heaps, Ed Haynes x3 , Jamie Drysdale x2

Conversions: Steve Danby x 6

Man of the Match: Will Parker

DOD: Adam Heaps

 

Hammers 2nd XV hold onto top spot with gutsy win

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The Hammers 2XV travelled away to 5th in the league Rosslyn Park Bs on a cold and blustery Saturday morning. Off the back of an excellent win against league title contenders London Welsh 2XV, the boys were feeling confident for back-to-back wins on the fast Rosslyn Park artificial turf. With Hammersmith playing with the wind in the first half, the game remained a tight affair for the majority of the first 40 minutes. The hammersmith scrum was on top form with the forward pack dominating Rosslyn Park at set piece, utilising this advantage in the dying minutes of the half, the boys opted to take a scrum penalty 5 metres from the Rosslyn Park line. Unable to handle the Hammersmith power, and with some excellent control at the base of the scrum, number 8 Ainsley Howard walked the ball over the line and doted down for the first and only try of the game. The try was smoothly converted by captain Huw Parks, despite the difficult windy conditions.

The second half turned out to be a cagey affair, with penalties and territory being traded backwards and forwards. The first points of the half came from the delightful penalty kick from Parks far out on the left-hand side of pitch against the wind. Parks call for a shot at goal seemed to be an audacious one. Undeterred by the wind, he stepped up and slotted the kick through the uprights, settling Hammersmith in to the second 40 minutes. Hammersmith then came under a period of pressure from Rosslyn Park camped within the 22, but stout defence from the entire team kept the Rosslyn Park team away from the line. Good game management by the boys and a further two penalty kick by Parks settled the game, which finished 3-16 to Hammersmith. Man of the Match was awarded to Huw Parks for his flawless kicking performance from the tee and steadfast management of the game from the centre of the field. This win solidified the teams position at the top of the league with one more game remaining before the Christmas break.

Special shout out to Mitch Lewis, who adorned the Hammers jersey for the final time this weekend before heading home to Australia. Following a solid hammers career, his final game was no different. He controlled the game from fly half putting in some sublime passes and subtle kicks, keeping the Rosslyn Park team constantly guessing. He left the field in true gladiatorial fashion sustaining a nasty cut above his right eye, leaving the UK with a nice souvenir to remember us by. Best of luck Mitch.

Hammers 3rd XV squeeze past a tough Hampstead

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This was no weather to be outside and some would have rather spent this Saturday watching Netflix. The temperature was close to freezing, the rain was lashing the faces and the wind was blowing the flags off the pitch. It was rumoured that some Hammers, despite being on the team sheet, had preferred to stay at home in the warmth, fortunately others were called up at the last minute and rallied to the hammers cause.

With condensation on their Movember moustaches, the Hammers 3s were ready to defend the fortress Hurlingham. Starting the game into the terrible wind of storm Arwen and despite some valiant kicking, it was almost impossible for us to get out of our half. The conditions were difficult for both teams: poor passing, lots of knock-ons. But no excuses, the weather is the same for both teams, it’s winter rugby after all. Hampstead used the wind to keep the Hammers penned in and scored a try (after a fortunate bounce on a kick after sustained pressure on strong defence) and pressed the advantage using the wind to seal a couple of penalties. We were behind at the break, without having scored a single point.

Half Time Hammers 0 – Hampstead 16

In the second half we had the wind with us and with the help of some good touches, a solid scrum and some good mauls, we gradually started to gain the ascendancy. The main turning point of the game came when Ed Hayes had a break through running halfway to the edge of Hampstead’s 22 popping it from the floor for the team captain (in a rare spate of running for a front row forward) to go over and get us on the board. It put the fight back in the lads and the real hammers heart came through. The next try came from a hammers lineout on the opposition 5 with the maul going over with Nick Turner putting it down topping off a great day for the front row. The pressure was then on and a good use of the boot kept the lads down in Hampstead’s half. Eventually Hampstead had to relent to that pressure resulting in Ben England going over in a convertible position, which Steve Danby stepped up to the plate and slotted.

Hammers 17 – Hampstead 16 less than ten minutes to go the tension was cutting.

From the kick off we returned the ball to Hampstead’s  22 well and kept it there to ground out a 1 point victory. Got there in the end and the teams place at the top of the league continues, the Lads retired to the Wolf pack to escape the weather and for well fought for Beers at the Hammers Charity night.

Hammers come agonisingly close against London Welsh

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It was a clear dry day, with a slightly stiff breeze as both sides arrived at Hurlingham Park with pints being poured, burgers on the grill and a reasonable crowd gathering.

London Welsh kicked off into the wind, and quickly put Hammers under pressure as perhaps the size of the occasion had gotten to some of the boys and nervous errors crept in. Deep in our own 22, someone needed to rise to the occasion and lead the way and rising highest was the long-haired heartbreaker Tim ‘Le Scooby-Snack’ Russell. Spying an opportunity, he plucked a floated pass out of the air and pinned his ears back for the full 90 metres to continue his prolific try-scoring form.
7-0 to the Hammers, five minutes gone.

Top of the table after 8 games doesn’t come by accident however, and Welsh showed their quality by coming back hard with some serious forward pressure. Ill discipline was costly and penalty kicks to touch allowed Welsh to set up their driving maul, and from this platform they scored thrice in quick succession to leave the score looking far less rosy from a Hammers perspective, 7-21 after 30 minutes.

Up until this point it would be fair to say that Hammers had shown a little too much respect to their opposition, and it took a yellow card from a dangerous high tackle from the Welsh Captain to provide a bit of spark. For the last five minutes of the half Hammers had the bit between their teeth and went into the break disappointed that they had let the score line get away from them.

Hammers began the second half strongly, a scrum on the halfway line led to a set piece move in which centre Peter Bicknell blasted his way through the Welsh midfield and around the cover defence to score in the corner. The conversion was just pushed wide, leaving the score at 12-21 with 35 minutes of rugby left to play.

Frenetic would be a fair description of the next period of the game. Hammers spent long periods in the Welsh 22 but struggled to find that crucial breakthrough. After some quick hands through the backs released substitute winger Bryce into the corner, Hammers were incensed that the reckless dive from the Welsh covering tackler led to naught due to the ref’s view being blocked. This energy led to a score not long after, with flyhalf Pete Morris wriggling through the defence and reaching out to place the ball on the scoreline. With Captain Carolan knocking over the extras it was a two point game with ten minutes to go.

When reattaching Bryce’s head some of the wires must’ve got crossed, and his ‘over exuberant celebration’ after Morris’s try led to Welsh having a penalty from the halfway line instead of the usual restart. Welsh once again showed their fortitude by using this platform to launch an attack which saw them score an unconverted try and gain a little bit of breathing space on the scoreboard, as well as the bonus point. 26-19 after 72 minutes.

After the ensuing restart and a good clearance kick, the Hammers fullback Marshall MacLeod decided to do his best Marionette impression after taking contact and being held up by the Welsh defence. From this scrum in the middle of the park Welsh again launched deep into Hammers territory, eventually scoring in the corner. At this point there was a translation error, with the thick Scots accent of Hammers 9 Ross Anderson being mistaken for naked outrage by the referee, who showed him a yellow and told him to take an early shower.

For the last five minutes Hammers showed some serious fight, and launched attack after attack in the Welsh 22, only being stopped by repeated blatant infringements at the offside line and ruck, giving the referee no choice but to pull the card out of his pocket once again for the Welsh openside flanker. With the final play of the game Hammers finally crossed the line, to earn two bonus points and a final score of 26-31 to London Welsh.

Man of the Match was awarded to Peter Bicknell for his tireless efforts punching holes in the midfield and giving front foot ball. Dick of the Day was reserved for Ross Anderson, there will be a collection at the next home game to provide him with some elocution lessons.

Final Score:
Hammersmith and Fulham 26 – London Welsh 31

Try Scorers:
Tim Russell
Peter Morris
Peter Bicknell
Joe Carolan

Hammers 2nd XV take down London Welsh

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The day was Saturday the 13th of November year of our lord 2021, it was a mild November day dry and about 14 degrees at Hurlingham park where this titanic top of the table clash was to take place. Despite this mild weather Huw Parks still found it cold enough to wear his Welsh Students warm up top, which was a point of contention as we were about to play London Welsh, getting his DOD nomination in early.

Despite the uncertainty over Huws’ allegiance there was a palpable excitement amongst the team during warm up, lineout darts were looking sharp, Nugget was in his finest Merrell hiking boots and the backs were looking slick. The only concern was from Rich Vaughn who was concerned the wind was blowing South Easterly not Easterly, another putting in a strong DOD nomination.

The game kicked off with great ferocity, some strong kick chasing straight from the off caused errors all over the Welsh backline. With ball in hand the carrying was aggressive, strong carrying from the pack put the Welsh defensive line under more pressure resulting in a handful of penalties. We managed to win a penalty and put ourselves in the corner for an attacking lineout 5 meters out. As in the warmup, the darts were sharp, and a powerful maul saw Max Imfield over for the first points of the game. Conversion missed 5-0 to the hosts.

The pressure kept on showing as the penalty count of the visitors mounted, Huw Parks proved his loyalty by slotting a 3 pointer between the sticks making it 8-0.

The Welsh gathered their composure and after seeing our impressive structure scored their first points of the game by using a driving maul. Conversion missed putting the score at 8-5.

The second half was closed out by some strong Hammersmith pressure, the Jacks and Queens flying into the Welsh defensive line, strong carrying from the back row allowing Ash Mitchell to win a penalty in front of the sticks. Hammers opted for the 3 pointer and there was no mistake from Mr Parks. Score at halftime 11-5.

The second half started in much the same way as the first half, with unbridled aggression. This resulted in another penalty to Hammersmith in the Welsh 22. Huw got his first points of the second half with another fine kick to make it 14-5.

However, London Welsh rallied after this and after several phases of defence on our own line Welsh dove over out wide to score a try. Conversion made 14-12.

This was the wakeup call Hammers needed to close out this game, like the ice bucket challenge the attack was refreshed. Strong running from Rich Vaughn and Sam ‘the eel’ Nursey put Rufus Falkner-Lee into acres of space, as he galloped down the line like a gazelle, the hopes of the crowd were lifting as a try would seal out the game. However instead of feeding the ball to the fullback in a 2 on 1. He decided he was Louis Rees-Zammit and kicked the ball straight into the opposition fullback and instead of letting the ball go into touch for an attacking lineout, he decided to be charitable and carry it out himself. A really strong DOD nomination.

Despite the self-sabotage from Rufus, we managed to win the ball back, compound pressure which resulted in a penalty and Huw Parks made no mistake from the tee. Score 17-12.

During the final minutes, nerves were jangling, as the crowed watched on with great anxiety. The seconds managed to absorb the pressure. Matt Newman, decided enough was enough, went from Scrumhalf to flanker to secure a game winning penalty.

Fulltime Hammers 17 London Welsh 12.

Try: Max Imfield x1

Penalties: Huw Parks x4

Man of the Match: Scott Howe

DOD: Rufus Falkner-Lee

Wordsmith: Chris Ralph

 

Hammers I’s Defeat Battersea in Legendary Derby

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Rome vs Carthage. Sparta vs Troy. Colin vs Cuthbert. Rivalry is a common theme throughout history going back to the dawn of time. This Saturday past produced yet another epic encounter. A match to determine which team would wear the crown of Best South West London 1 South Club Located Around the River and Not Too Far Out of the City.

Hammersmith & Fulham vs Battersea.

It was a fierce mild day for rugby. Like Caesar himself crossing the Rubicon, Hammers crossed the Thames into Battersea territory. ‘Alea iacta erat.’ The die was cast. Hammers had every reason to be confident. A BP win against Chichester the week before had put us on a four game win streak. The augurs portended poor omens however when much of the team struggled to locate the field of battle, with many including the author relying on the navigation skills of consul Joe Caravan to steer us through enemy territory.

The warm-up was sharp. The forwards rumbled through their set-piece, building their maul, line-out and scrum like the great siege engines of old. The backs meanwhile, consubstantial in mindset, practised their moves seeking to expose chinks in the Battersea defence. The winds calmed. The stage was set. The gods waited with bated breath. Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.

Despite promising preparations, Battersea drew first blood soon after kick-off. Having quickly made it into Hammers’ half, their scrum-half, displaying artful chicanery, embarked on a daring raid of the Hammers’ defence. Having found space where none thought possible, he found his supporting man who charged over Hammers’ line. The conversion duly missed, the score read 5-0 Battersea.

This was the wake-up call Hammers needed and bearing an upright zeal, and great fortitude of character, the 15 men descended upon the Battersea defence. James Lo’s inspirational words of ‘lads these boys all work in the city with us, this game has serious bragging rights’ ringing in our ears. The attack, renewed with great vigour, advanced deep in Battersea territory, halting only briefly when Alex Hart threw a pass where he looked not, drawing great wrath from the sideline. Hammers had a new resolve. ‘Aut cum scuto aut in scuto.’

Stealing the ball from their lineout like a thief in the night, the ball found its way into the hands of Pete Bicknell who punched through the Battersea defence like Moses parting the Red Sea, offloading to his comrades before Pete Morris touched down. Consul Caravan added the extras to put Hammers ahead 7-5.

This foray was followed in quick succession by another, this time, some excellent line-out work marshalled by Zander Stephens gave the backs the platform they needed. Then, in the manner of Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae, Hammers’ backs once again pincered the Battersea defence leaving none other than magnanimous Mitch Lewis to score. Hammers led 12-5.

Not content to rest on their laurels, Hammers once again made a break for Battersea’s line, earning penalty after penalty five metres out. Settling for a scrum, the Hammers pack heaved Battersea backwards, front row Rogan, Gus, and Poulton leading the charge, and some clean-cut passing from the backs put James Lo over in the corner. Consul Caravan added the extras to see Hammers into halftime 19-5 up.

Even in classical times, the gods were oft reluctant to involve themselves in mortal affairs. However, the sheer incredulity of Hammers’ fourth try leaves nothing other than divine intervention as an explanation. With Hammers quickly regaining possession, Mike ‘Lav’ Laverly threw an audacious miss pass along the winds of time themselves. This was quickly followed by a cross-field kick which was, in turn, caught and kicked forward for a waiting Tim ‘le Snack’ Russell to pounce over the line. The Bonus point had been secured.

To their credit, Battersea quickly responded with a score of their own, leaving the score 26-12. However, that would be the last time the ball would cross the whitewash. Other notable occasions included Rosco continuing the team’s black eye tradition. Much like Achilles taking an arrow to the ankle, scrum-half Rosco was punched in the face. Somewhat less poetic sure but no less of a mighty sacrifice to the Hammers cause. Content with his miss pass and having secured the bonus point, Lav duly smashed their 12 off their ball and left the field, having been shown some cheese.

When the final whistle blew, it was Hammers who triumphed in the South West Derby. Man of the match was awarded to Angus ‘Gus’ Brown, a man forged in the sands of the Colosseum, who was decisive in Hammers’ set-piece coming out on top. With five wins in a row, attention now turned to London Welsh at Fortress Hurlingham.

(It should also be noted that the author was not allowed to submit this report unless he included how, in the dying minutes of the game, he was utterly melted by their biggest bloke. Think David vs Goliath but instead of using a slingshot, David just runs into Goliath. That sort of thing.)

Hammers 2nd XV bounce back strong

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The Hammers 2s had an away league fixture at Chiswick to face HAC. It had been a tough week of soul searching for the team after the heavy loss against Belsize 2s.

It was a beautiful day for footy and playing on the 4G pitch would encourage running rugby. The boys started well going up 5-0 after 15 minutes and looked the better team, especially in the backs. Then it was a real arm wrestle from then on. By half time it was 12-7. Small errors and lapses in concentration kept HAC in the game.

A try early into the second half gave us some breathing room taking the score 17 – 7. We looked to close out the game from there but through weak defence and silly mistakes HAC managed to score and bring it back to 17-14.

The last 25 minutes were going to be tough for Hammers as HAC had their tails up and had the boys defending their line for long periods of time. Then we clicked into gear and showed real steel holding off waves off attack.

A break off the scrum on our 5m from winger Joe Crawley swung the momentum and gave the boost the boys needed to finish off the game. With some great individual efforts, we took the game away from HAC with the final score being 29-19. HAC scored on the last play of the game.

Great step up as a team from the previous week and we are looking forward to taking on one of the top teams in the league, London Welsh. It should be a cracker of a game

Farnham remind Hammers 1st XV the wins don’t come easy

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The Hammers came into Saturday in buoyant mood, having previously dispatched the ‘Wild Geese’ convincingly in their last outing and bolstered by the return of London’s premier Doctor, Steve John, and Mykonos’s favourite beanpole, Alex Hart. In some further changes, club veteran Rogan was asked to carry the water, offering a first start to a man half his age, Ricky Drewitt, at loosehead, whilst Joe Crawley was set to make his debut off the bench after some strong performances for the 2s. The challenge this week lay in the form of Farnham, a side who were marooned near the foot of the table. Nevertheless, closer inspection of results unveiled important nuance – their defeats have all been by tight margins and they pushed table-toppers Welsh close. The warm-up was sharp, and Coach ‘Jacko’ may even have displayed a minor smile across his pursed lips, which should have been a warning sign.

The Hammers got off to a delightful start. A clean kick-off return (not a common feature thus far this season), preceded a fluent period of possession. Playing our attacking shape, the forwards made some dynamic carries, before Joel Caravan played a flat miss pass out to ‘Le Snack’ Russell who kindly returned the egg to the Caravan via the delicate, sun-kissed hands of Hart.

15 minutes later, and it was 14-0 to the Hammers. The combination of Caravan and Russell striking again, with the former making an electric line break before feeding the gas to finish. The Hammers were in control, and with Hart having been yanked on his return midway through the half, they could have had more. Some intense harrying work by the back row titans, John and McMahon, made Farnham cough up possession and our nippy 9, Rossco looked set to score his first ever Hammers try. Sadly, raw pace is not something our Tartan warrior is known for, and a panicked offload found turf rather than the expectant stick-mitts.

As the second half arrived, the portents were rather less promising. Early on, Joel Caravan, drawing inspiration from the burgeoning centre partnership of Lavery and Bicknell, won a brave turnover in the middle of the park, which he soon ruined by booting the ball sideways and straight out. In times gone by, Bicknell would have engaged death stare mode and lessons would be learnt. Sadly, with his fellow Kray twin, Harry Scarr, missing with a sore hand, the aura has faded and he would now struggle to scare a kitten.

Sure enough, Farnham came back into the game, putting the Hammers under pressure. They controlled both possession and territory convincingly during the second half but strong defence kept them at bay barring a single penalty which the Farnham 10 knocked over for some stats-padding. With Farnham knocking at the door, the resolve of the boys was tested further due to a number of injuries. Poulton (back), Bennett (wrist) and John (head) all trudged onto the sidelines with the game in the balance.

However, against the run of play, the Hammers struck to put the game to bed. A penalty provided the opportunity for some territory, however, not for the first time, Lavery missed touch. Fortunately the ball was kicked back to the Caravan himself who manufactured a 3 on 2. Russell showed everyone he has power to go with his raw pace and burst through a double tackle, offloading to Morris who dummied and made it to the line.

The last throes of the game saw a return to the pattern of the second half, with Farnham asking difficult questions in the Hammers 22. Questions which were mostly answered, until they went over with the last play in the game to deliver a final scoreline of 19-10. We wish Farnham well for the rest of the season and look forward to our away trip to Guildford.

MoM: Tim ‘Le Snack’ Russell.

Tin Man: A very unscary Peter Bicknell for impacting the operational capacity of South West London’s emergency NHS services by knocking out Dr Steve John.

Hammers ease past Chichester to claim 4th spot

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Hammers ease past Chichester

4th played 5th on a clear autumn day at Hurlingham Park, Hammers were looking to make it 4 wins in a row and maintain their unbeaten run at home. Chichester had won 4 of their opening 6 games making it a crucial clash for both sides.

Hammers were out of the blocks quickly, dominating the early exchanges and pinning Chichester in their 22. This early pressure led Pete Morris to break through the Chichester line and score under the posts. The extras were added to make it 7-0 to the hosts.

Chichester managed to gain a foothold in the game using their set piece and big ball carriers. Ill-discipline in the Hammers defence gave an easy shot at goal which Chichester duly converted.

As the game swung back in favour of the hosts, a fantastic flowing move started down the right wing by Tim Russell and finished off by Joe Carolan scoring  in the corner. Joe then converted his own try from the touchline to make it 14-3.

After a couple of Chichester penalties, the Hammers were on the attack again. After a few carries from the forwards, tightening up the Chichester defence, Angus Brown pulled an pass out the back of the forward pod to Pete Morris. The ball was then spun wide to James Lo to dive over in the corner. Joe knocked over the conversion from the other touch line to make it 21-9 at the half.

Following the break, the Hammers started the second half in similar fashion to the first. Aggressive line speed in defence lead to a Joe Carolan intercept which he ran in from the halfway. He once again added the extras to make it 28-9.

The following 20 minutes was dominated by Chichester. They pinned the Hammers on their own and applied the pressure. They were met with a stoic defence from the Hammers. A particular mention has to go to Sean McMahon, who’s feud with opposition ankles continued for another week and Zander Stephen for consistently disrupting the opposition lineout.

However, in fairness to Chichester they maintained the pressure throughout this period. Their scrum had become dominant and they capitalised on Hammers mistakes. Ill-discipline once again cost the Hammers and a culmination of penalties lead to James Lo being sent to the sin bin. Despite being a man down, the Hammers defence was resolute and they almost made it through the 10 minutes unscathed. But a chip in behind the hammers defence was gathered by their winger to score. The extras were added to make it 28-16.

With the return to a full complement of players, the Hammers started to regain some possession and territory. Another flowing backs move gave James Lo some space, where he broke a tackle and went over in the corner to put the result beyond any doubt.

In the closing minutes, the Hammers were on the attack again. Breaking through a tiring Chichester line, Hammers ran half the length of the pitch the ball going through multiple pairs of hands before Joe Carolan got his 3rd try of the day. The conversion was missed to make a final score of 38-16.

The win made it 2 years ad 3 months undefeated at Hurlingham park. Next week the Hammers will be looking to make it 5 wins in a row against Battersea Ironsides.

MoM: Sean McMahon | DoD: James Lo

 

 

 

Hammers 1st put in a performance against Guildford

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Following a disappointing but winning performance the week before against a resilient Farnham, it was a determined Hammers 1st XV that travelled to Surrey for this, their first ever match against Guildford RFC.

From the start, things were different.  The boys started strongly, defending the first 5 mins or so, before winning some good penalty turnovers and taking the game to Guildford and opening the account via a great first try through Pete Bicknell, care of a couple of good Jacks followed by a Whisky (Rangy) and he was in.

Score: 5 vs 0.

Typically, Hammers switched off from the restart, with Guildford employing a split Kick Off. The ball was caught by Captain Joe Carolan on the backs’ side, before a silly penalty was given coming in from the side. Guildford kicked to the corner and then 5-man lineout drive over the line.  Score 5-5.

This lapse in concentration in the first half was what we needed to switch back on, securing the ball from the kick off back and scoring almost straight away, with the forwards retaining possession well which unleashed the back line. A couple of dents from Bicknell and Pete M was able to go himself and make it to the line. Score: 12 vs 5. Hammers extended the lead through a penalty 15 vs 5, before score our third try of the half. Bicknell crash ball, with an offload inside to Joe Carolan under the posts score 22 vs 5.

Unfortunately, this was Bicknell’s last partaking in the game as he went off with a dead leg. Guildford, scored in the final play of the half with the most dubious decision of the year, they kicked the ball through, Mitch put the ball down over the line, ref said that the ball was not controlled, despite admitting there was downward pressure. Score half time: 22 vs 10.

Hammers started the second half on the back foot, catching the restart but giving a penalty away almost straight after. Guildford nudged it into the corner where they remained on our line for the next 5 minutes, however, the defence stayed firm holding them out. When Hammers finally got in their half, they scored from what was undoubtedly our best try of the season and some New Zealand-esque style of rugby. Two quick Jacks and a magic, straighten through the defence, with Joe Crawley on hand to score in the corner. Score: 27 vs 10.

For the next 15 mins we were in our own half unable to escape and unfortunately the defence didn’t hold out as it had done previously. There were some great shots going in with bodies on the line, however Guildford were able to score eventually through 2 pick and go’s in very quick succession. Score 27 vs 22. At this point, concerns of another Medway were in the players’ minds, however, like most of the day our counter attack and freestyle of play put us further ahead. A loose kick from them to Pete Morris, who beat two and offloaded, quick hands from Ricky to Joe, to step inside and offload to Ross who has officially ended his Doughnut. Conversion successful. Score: 34 vs 22.

For the remainder of the game, we were camped on our line. Pete Morris, received a yellow, but bodies were being put on the line including Sean who took a big old blow to the head. Defence remained strong with a massive effort until the ref finally blew his whistle. Final Score: 34 vs 10, and our first away bonus point of the year!