December blues hit the Hammers 2s
Having lost to Wimbledon, the 2s were keen to restore their pride through victory over league leaders Worthing. Upon arrival, the scene was set. The weather was miserable, the pitch was puddly, and the air smelt like a top-of-the-table match of rugby.
The 2s kicked off, and within a couple of heavy breaths conceded their first penalty of the game. This would be the opening act in a storied sequence of day-defining ill-discipline. By the 80th minute, few would have seen such volumes of pens given so cheaply since Woolworths entered administration.
Keen to make amends, the 2s gritty defense drove Worthing from 22 to 10 metre line – where Hammersmith and Fulham’s sustained collective line speed forced a handling error from the hosts. For the next 20 minutes, an enthralling end-to-end battle ensued with both sides hungry to score first. Scrum times proved arduous for the visitors, whose shorter studs could’ve been mistaken for bowling shoes on the squelchy pastures of West Sussex. Halfway through the first half, the ******** won a mid-pitch lineout where some neat footwork and oddly respectable footballing skills saw flyhalf Ted Shandy kick and collect deep in Worthing’s 22. Two phases later he kicked the ball once more for skipper Tom Hughes to dot down. This was premier ******** rugby – unrelenting defensive doggedness combined with clinical offensive finishing. Magnifique.
The arm-wrestle continued, building with intensity until Worthing eventually converted their prolonged offensive pressure, capitalising from a 5m scrum. The 2s restarted – kicking the ball at Worthing’s inconspicuous lock who enjoyed a 20-yard gallop before hoofing a supernatural 50-22. Worthing won the lineout and secured a scrappy second score from a sloppy strike move that saw handling errors rectified by fly-hacks in a thoroughly underwhelming passage of rugby.
Irked and determined, the 2s were intent on righting their wrongs. Sustained offensive pressure saw Hammersmith and Fulham back on Worthing’s 5m line. The ******* 2s drew closer to parity with every carry, finally spinning the ball out wide until, Worthing intercepted. Although the Worthing player successfully ran it in, credit must be awarded to Naan for hounding after him the entire way.
The second half commenced, and the ******** found themselves camped in their own half for an undesirably extended duration. Hammersmith and Fulham commendably defended two 5m scrums, before a pair of opposition props broke through for Worthing’s fourth score. For anyone who’s cooked doughballs too close together, this was a similar case of lumps connecting frustratingly well.
The next 15 minutes saw a close contest unfold. In one notable passage, Hammers reclaimed possession in their 22, before thumping the ball downfield. Backs Tom Hughes and Dan Hogg hared after the receiver and good defensive pressure pinned Worthing near their tryline. The *******’s regained possession in a moment of swiftness, as Lucas Sopher’s pirouetting rip dispossessing an accelerating ball carrier. Anushan briskly passed to Ted who cut through for the *******’s second.
Now only two tries down with 20 minutes left, the *******’s hopes still flickered. However, a grueling 10-minute spell followed, that saw Hammersmith and Fulham battling to escape their own half. The pressure intensified when Worthing’s center broke the line, and shortly after the hosts had their fifth.
In the game’s dying embers, the *******’s famous resolve willed them on for a third and final score. Having won a penalty just beyond halfway, the ******** found touch inside Worthing’s 22. Another slick Dan Perry lineout was followed by an incisive final strike where Kristian Thompson casually broke four tackles to go under the posts.
Man of the Match – Tom Hughes
Final score 31-19.
