Cracking rugby and a hard-fought win for the 3s

Hammersmith & Fulham RFC – 3s Match Report Final Score: Hammers 29 – 24 Haringey Rhinos

 A Frenchman, an Australian, an Englishman, and a Kiwi all walk into a change room together… No, that’s not the start of one of Rogan’s “funny” post-training jokes, that just happened to be the starting 9, 10, 12, 13 combo of the mighty Thirsty 3s who were primed and ready for a cracking game of rugby.

After a revised warm up, the team were fired up and ready to take on a physical Haringey Rhinos team.

Fortunately, thanks to some silky quick hands from Sam Smith, Kenan “Naan” Ugenc, Paddy O’Tool and Mike Willis, winger Fergus Cassidy scored the first points of the match. This now had the sideline buzzing with excitement for the remaining 70minutes of high quality rugby.

However, what’s a Thirsty 3s game without a little chaos? First, Minister for Vibes Sam Smith (who forgot the speaker for pre & post match tunes) departed the field, shortly followed by our rampaging No.8 Ainsley Howard, who unfortunately suffered a serious knee injury. Thankfully, the bench stacked with a dynamic bomb squad consisting of Simon Irwin, Kieran Smith, Sehii Shostak & Brendan Leschert, were all called into action earlier than expected and absolutely rose to the challenge.

After regathering and composing ourselves, Simon Irwin crashed over the line on the back of a 20m driving maul that resembled a runaway freight train. It was a true piece of art for those that love set piece.

Hammers then continued to capitalise on Haringey’s mistakes making serious line breaks and showing off our classy skills through the likes of George Riley, Charlie Hay, Ben Bradshaw, Dylan Jones, Kenan “Naan” Urgenc, Harry Stratford, Thomas Rochette, Michael Willis and Tim Jones.

While the author of this match report might admit to a brief memory lapse in the build up, what won’t be forgotten was stand-in captain Adam Stannard’s try to close out the half. Word on the street is Adam chose to skip the team huddle to ask Haringey for the VEO so he could save the clip and show it off to anyone who will watch it with him.

The second half started with Haringey fired up and full of added belief that they were still firmly in the hunt for a W. Despite strong defensive efforts pushing the Haringey attack backwards, a lucky bounce from a box kick gifted their winger a fortunate try which was then followed by another quick-fire try that flipped the momentum. The Hammers now had a fight on their hands.

Speaking of fights, Paddy O’Toole was later heard talking about what some describe as an alleged romantic love tap to the face. But after pure speculation and nothing proven in a court of law, the thirsty 3s marched on.

Once hammers managed to get some possession and built some phases Ben Bradshaw managed to cross the line to take the hammers to a 26-19 lead with under 10 minutes to go.

The momentum however, was very much still with Haringey who continued to charge towards the Hammers goal line and after multiple phases of goal line defence that would make any coach proud, the hearts of the hammers players and supporters nearly sunk when the Haringey player looked to be a certain chance of scoring the match equaling try however, the Haringey player appeared to get too excited too early and knocked the ball on over the line.

It’s okay though, premature celebrations happen to the best of us except for the author of this fine match report who definitely has never experienced that….

Now that the pressure was relieved, the boys charged upfield, and Tim Jones calmly slotted a penalty goal to stretch the lead to 29–19.

After a prolonged period of gritty defence from the Hammers, the Haringey attack patiently waited for their opportunity to strike and managed scored a consolation try after the full time whistle.

Post-match, injured captain-coach Rob McKeon deemed Mitch Currie as Man-of-the Match. Rumour has it he’s also requested the VEO footage… something about his highlights boosting his Hinge profile? Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.

A cracking day of rugby, a hard-fought win, and as always our thoughts are with those who picked up knocks. Wishing Ainsley and the rest of the wounded a speedy recovery.

Final Score: Hammers 29 – 24 Haringey Rhinos