September.  The leaves? Starting to brown.  The sky? Grey. The wind? Blowing. The summer? Didn’t happen. The preseason? Long. Josh AA? Still tiny. The Rugby?

Here. Now. In Brighton.

Having survived the promotion to Level 5 the season before and brimming with a confidence that comes from knowing they belonged, it was an excited and hungry Hammersmith & Fulham RFC 1^st XV that travelled  to Brighton for the first game of the season. And with the scores-on-the-doors for these two sides standing at 1-a-piece thanks to Hammers securing the away win the previous November in a dominant performance, only to have Brighton even the tally on the return, it was a game the boys were targeting for the win.

The first whistle of the 2024/25 season saw the Hammers receive the kick off just inside their 22, Ben (or was it Max…) Dudgale (9) taking the honours for the first touch of the ball and confidently kicking to touch despite blue-shirted pressure. A short Brighton line out led to their 8 trucking it up the middle, and then a quick back grubber kick found a gap and dribbled over the Hammers try line only to see Josh Daydora (15) ably herd it over touch-on-goal….but an overenthusiastic defence from the Hammers saw the first red penalty of the day.  A blue kick led to a hostile line-out in our 22.

From that point, one thing would become clear – the Hammers line out was a weapon, one that would see Tom Proctor (5), Irish Josh (4) and later, substitute Harry “Barry” Scarr (17) putting serious pressure on the Brighton line-out all day. In this case, effective man-marking by Josh forced a not straight throw. Hammers scrum.

Here, Brighton was much more competitive, with an experienced, height-challenged front row attacking Ed Wynne (3) like dwarves trying to take down an Orc. Playing on the extreme edge of the law when it comes to “straight push”, it is a situation the referee will rectify as the game progresses, but it causes the boys problems. Regardless, the Hammers clear the ball, leading to a blue line out but one where the Hammers aerial specialists again show their class and win against the throw. Phases later, the Hammers desire to play quick ball sees a Brighton player penalised, allowing Max (or was it Ben…) Dugdale (10) to kick the Hammers into the midfield.

A chance to march Brighton’s forwards up the field…Proctor sees a weak spot in the Brighton line-out and calls for Dan Hostelter (2) to hit him at the tail. Up he goes, catching a dead straight (this time) line out, and handing it off to everyone’s favourite garden gnome Josh AA (6). Hoisting the ball above his head like the Greek God Atlas carrying planet earth, Josh eventually splits off from the maul and attacks the line like Ewoks taking on an Imperial Walker. He offloads back to Dan, who offloads to…Ben? Max? A Dugdale. A Dugdale passes to Scotty (7) who finds Oscar Newman (11) on the wing. More ground. Oscar is tackled in the 5 meter channel. Ruck…Hammers penalty! What will the boys do…

Kick to the corner…Proctor goes for the double jab and elects to maul again on the 5 meter line…the line out isn’t straight! Blue scrum, blue kick for touch. No reward for the hard work.

What is clear by this point is that this most-chronic of Hammers diseases – starting slow – is thankfully absent. Was it the extended warm up, care of new head coach Alain Van West (French)? Was it the 5 debutants pulling on the red-and-blue for the first time? Was it the presence of the Conor (Anal-yst), whose somewhat amorphous tackle-and-ruck counting meant there was nowhere to hide? It’s hard to say, but the Hammers met the Brighton attack with determination, the forwards soaking up powerful runs from their sizable back row whilst Marshall (12) and Eion (13) effectively shut down Brighton’s back division.

And that’s how the first 1^st 10 minutes played out, Hammers starved of ball whilst Brighton probes, the Hammers biding their time until the pig’s bladder finds its way to their hands.

Thing change when Josh Daydora counter runs up the left-hand 15 channel from a blue kick…he’s hit late! Hammers penalty, kicked downfield setting up a maul 15 meters from the blue touch line.

Proctor wants the ball at the back of the line-out, and this time Dan’s aim is true. The forwards maul, Ben Dugdale takes ball whilst momentum is on and passes to Max…Max finds Oscar out the back who has come into line off his wing. Max hits Josh Daydora…he finds Marshall MacCleod (12) on the loop…who finds Tim Russell (14).  Tim’s tackled…ruck on the try line…Dugdale goes for the snipe…score!!! 0-7 with Max converting.

The remainder of the half is an arm wrestle. Hammers play Rugby in the right areas and absorb significant pressure, with the like of Marshall and Eion Baker fighting to keep out a Brighton back division determined to play into a downward sloping left-side corner, and the tackling efforts of the Hammers back row of George Bagshaw (8), Josh AA and Scott VB absorbing constant round-the-corner attacks from the sizable Brighton back row. Eventually, the two sides fight each other to a standstill, the half ending at 0-7.

Confident, the boys take the field in the second half knowing that they had more to give, and 9 minutes into the second half they show it. Another not-straight from the Brighton line-out saw the Hammers elect to take the line-out option, which again see Proctor call the ball to the back.  A perfectly executed maul sucks in the Brighton forwards…a pass from Ben this time finds Marshall’s hands, who takes two steps, sucks in a defender, and hits Max out the back. Max cuts in, creating space for Oscar, who straightens, causing the outside defender to bite…pass to Daydora….lightning pace up the 15 channel with Tim Russell outside him…2-v-1….ball to Timmy…scores!!! 0-12 to the Hammers.

Brighton comes back. They fight their way into the Hammers 22 after the boys, with their tails up, start to play Rugby in the wrong places. The Brighton 9 makes the most of a gap in the Hammers line to make a scything 30 meter run to give them field position.  A Hammers penalty allows them to kick of the corner 5 meters from the line.  Will they drive it…Irish Josh snatches the ball, but in the effort to get some yards Ryan Powter (18) is driven into touch for a blue line-out in nearly the same spot.

Blue line-out again…this time they try a cheeky line out move at the front but Rogan (1) reads it and brings him down. Brighton picks and goes but Proctor brings him to the floor, only to see his delaying tactics earn our captain a yellow card! A man down, for close to 10 minutes the Hammers defend their line with rigor, holding out scrum-after-scrum and attack-after-attack before the inevitable happens and Brighton crosses the line. 7-12, but the boys have successfully eaten up the card. Proctor returns to the field, chastened. 10 minutes to go.

Play restarts. Back and forth it goes before a well-placed tactical kick earns the Hammers field position. The dominant line-out shows its worth…the boys are attacking.  There’s a 4-2 outside…Max sees a gap however and puts the foot down…he’s brought down agonisingly short of the line and penalised by the referee for not being registered! Brighton get out of jail and kick to touch.

Another line out steal from the Hammers puts the pressure right back on! More meters are made and the Hammers are attacking…but Brighton is penalised for trying to slow down the Hammers ball! This time the boys elect to go for the posts, and Max (or was it ben…) slots it neatly. 15-7.

3 minutes to go. Brighton kicks short and there’s a battle in the air…the referee rules it’s a Hammers knock on! Ed Wynne returns to the field and provides ballast to the scrum and the boys are immovable, so Brighton clears the ball to their backs. They attack around the corner…huge tackles from the back row…can they hold out…blue penalty! Time is dead so their 9 takes a quick tap…he’s tackled 5 meters from the line…ruck…their second row snatches the ball from the ground and finds the Hammers’ defence caught flat footed – no guard! Brighton scores! 15-14 with the conversion!

The try has come too late, and Hammers have hung on. It’s a great start to the season and the Hammers potential shone through, especially in the first half, but everyone knew there’s more to be done. Next week, Jersey at home.

Man of the match: Dan Hostelter

Hammer’s 1st team hosted top of the league Havant at Hurlingham Park, in what promised to be a thrilling encounter. Havant came looking to cement their place at the top of the league, whilst Hammers were focused on regathering form and righting-some-wrongs following their previous encounter against the south coast team. With The Temperance hosting the Fulham FA cup fans, up stepped the 8 Bells, who provided side-line beer for the match day, lifting the voices of the travelling fans and Hammers faithful.

With baited breath, the crowd watched as the ref blew for the start of the match. With a sloppy restart and compounding errors, Hammers found themselves 10 metres from their own line, only to find themselves in familiar territory – penalty to Havant. The hosts gladly took the 3 points. Sustained pressure from Havant and another grevious error resulted in a penalty kick to the Hammers corner, from which Havent started a driving maul. Hammers resident bad boy Barry ‘The Bruiser’ Scarr, was not best pleased with the Havant endeavour, and forced the issue.  The result? A penalty try, and some cheese for his efforts. 10 minutes in the bin for the back row player, 10-0 down, not the start Hammers were after.

The Hammers faithful fans began to question – would this be the same performance as the previous week?

Fear not. A strong response from the Hammers as they looked to breakdown the Havant defence, a strong driving maul and hard lines putting pressure on the travelling team.  More pressure, and then…Hammers cross the line. First team captain Tom Proctor, with a trademark pick through the middle of a ruck!!! He glided in untouched, reassuring the fans there is still life in the old man. Conversion successful, 10-7 to Havant. Following the try, Hammersmith are awarded a series of penalties, and once again returned to the Havant 22’. The Havant defence stood strong this time and kept out the home team.

Hammers were marshalled around the park with a quality kicking performance from Ross at 10, keeping the travelling team pinned back in their half. Havant eventually broke out of their 22 thanks to a quality kick chase, only to be stopped thanks to some solid midfield tackling from both James the “Maddog” and Marshall, keeping Havant at bay.

Unfortunately it would be Havant that would add next to the score sheet, a series of penalties resulted in Havant re-entering the Hammers 22’, and utilising their driving maul once more. Although brought to a stop, the large Havant pack deferred to their pick-and-go game, resulting in crossing the try line again. Conversion successful, Havant 17- Hammers 7.

A sequence of kicks back and forth brought in the games next stanza, with both teams looking to play territory. Strong carries from both teams, combined with a solid defence, resulted in lasting deadlock.

But then…Hammersmith, with a driving kick deep into the Havant 22. The strong running Havant back three opted to run it out targettign the right wing.  A good kick chase saw Hammers in high numbers defensively, but from no where….Barry Scarr, picking out an intercept and strolled in 30 metres out, making amends for his heinous behaviour earlier! Conversion unsuccessful, Havant 17- Hammersmith- 12.

Constant pressure and flowing rugby pinned the Havant team back in their own 22. High tackle on debutant scrum half Sam Seymour, resulted in the second cheese of the day being awarded to a Havant player.  Half time called, both teams returned to the sheds, Hammers in full confidence they could cause an upset.

Both sets of fans welcomed back the teams in full voice. The second half saw both  come out with renewed vigour, knowing that the slightest lapse in concentration could cost them dearly.

For 15 minutes neither team could add to their tally, strong driving mauls and line breaks from either side getting close but no cigar. It would be Havant that would add to the scoresheet next, following a big line break, shipping the ball wide to score in the corner, conversion successful. Havant 24- Hammers 12.

Rallying chants of ‘Hammers, Hammers’ from the sideline drove the Hammers forward. Pressure in the Havant 22’ eventually broke down the travelling team, with a carry to the line from fly half Ross, who lifted the ball into the smallest of spaces for in form full back Pete Morris to glide into, and around the winger.  With a Shearer—esque celebration added for good measure, it was the lift the Gammers needed! Havant 24- Hammers 17.

What happened next will be written into folklore. An open-field move saw the elusive Pete Morris receive an inside ball from Ross, giving him space to glide from within the Hammers half all the way up to the Havant 22.  Dancing feet and a switch pass to the supporting player and fan favourite Matt Killeen allowed him to glide over in the far corner after stepping the Havant full back! It was like something out of Swan Lake, a move straight off the training park. Head Coach Mark Jackson could be heard to utter the words ‘I a ****ing genius’. Conversion successful, 24 a-piece, what a game on at Fortress Hurlingham.

Havant  didn’t lie down.  Through sustained pressure, they made their way into the Hammers 22’ and, with a penalty awarded in front of the post, opted for the 3 points. Havant retook the lead as we entered the final 5 minutes.

Unfortunately it would not be Hammers day. A well-worked penalty kick to the corner for Havant and an ever present strong driving maul saw the travelling team cross the whitewash again in negative time, confirm their win for the day. Full time Havant 34- Hammers 24.

It was not to be for the home team , although they will take their renewed energy and performance down to Kent the following week, as they look to disrupt Tunbridge Wells.

Congratulations go to debutants Sam Seymour and Jack Macgregor, as well as returning prop Ed Wynne. Hammersmith wish the best to Havant as they look to solidify their position at the top of the table.