Hammers 1st XV second half masterclass pulls game back from the brink

Geoff Mahon’s boot got proceedings underway on a blustery afternoon at Hammersmith with the hammers keen to get a big win for captain Tommy Proctor’s milestone of 100 caps. A tremendous achievement, and surely the boys would provide him with a calm, comfortable afternoon to mark the occasion.

They did not.

The opening five minutes provided a fairly accurate preview of what was to come. Horsham had the ball. We defended. Horsham had the ball again. We defended some more.

The first real test came from a maul five metres from our own line. The Hammers held firm and eventually won the penalty.

Crisis averted.

Temporarily.

Playing into the wind, we struggled to escape our own half. The penalty count began creeping upwards and we barely saw the ball during the opening ten minutes.

Then came the breakthrough.

Unfortunately, theirs.

Horsham punched through the defensive line after nine minutes and some uncharacteristically charitable tackling allowed them to score the opening try.

0-7.

Five minutes later they were in again.

0-14.

This was not, it must be said, the dream start.

Horsham looked organised and composed. The Hammers looked rather more interested in seeing how difficult they could make the afternoon for themselves. Unforced errors piled up, tackles were missed and attacking possession was generally returned to Horsham with impressive efficiency.

Then, finally, something clicked.

Winger Tim Russell cut through the Horsham defence with a lovely line break before finding Marshall MacLeod in support. Marshall powered towards the line but was held up agonisingly short. Thankfully, an advantage brought the Hammers back for another crack.

This time, they made it count.

A couple of minutes later, some slick handling from the backs created space out wide and Max Dugdale went over in the corner.

5-14.

The Hammers were alive.

Briefly.

Rather than patiently building phases, the boys continued looking for the miracle ball, providing perhaps an early indication that patience would not be the defining characteristic of the afternoon.

Horsham punished us again after half an hour, crossing in the corner to make it 5-19.

Three minutes later, their number seven, comfortably the most influential player on the pitch in the opening 40, was involved as Horsham struck again.

Half-time.

Hammers 5-24 Horsham.

What next…

Some words were exchanged in the changing room by head coach Ryan Gregory. What exactly was said is probably best left within those four walls.

Whatever it was, the Hammers came back onto the pitch ready for revenge.

Horsham promptly scored.

A counterattack caught the Hammers out and suddenly the scoreboard read 5-31.

Twenty-six points down.

At home.

On the captain’s 100th appearance.

Excellent.

The deficit looked insurmountable. The sort of scoreline where thoughts naturally begin drifting towards the post-match pint and explanations for how it had all gone so horribly wrong.

But this is Hammersmith.

A Horsham goal-line dropout gave the Hammers possession and, finally, some space appeared out wide. The backline moved the ball quickly and outside centre Antoine Louis finished in the corner.

10-31.

Still miles away.

But something had changed.

The Hammers remembered their skipper was playing his 100th game and collectively decided that sending him home with a 26-point hammering probably wasn’t the appropriate present.

Around 55 minutes, a scrum on the Horsham 40 gave the backs a platform. The Hammers broke through, with flanker Dan Perry appearing in support and charging towards the line before being stopped inches short.

As bodies scrambled back into position, every Hammer could hear Ryan Gregory’s favourite words ringing in their ears.

Speed over shape.

Seb Rivett took that instruction rather literally.

He scooped up the ball, ignored whatever shape may or may not have existed, and stretched over the line.

15-31.

Belief.

Chris Thompson collected the ball with approximately half a rugby pitch and several Horsham defenders between himself and the try line.

A minor inconvenience.

He took off.

One tackle broken.

Then another.

Fifty metres later, the Mad Pup was over in the corner having produced an outrageous individual try and, suddenly, Horsham appeared to have forgotten entirely how to stop us.

31-20

Hang on a minute.

The Hammers were now flying. Carries started punching holes. Passes started sticking. The tempo increased. Horsham, so composed in the opening half, suddenly looked decidedly less comfortable.

Then their fullback decided that if he couldn’t intercept the ball legally, he’d have another go illegally.

Yellow card.

Penalty try.

31-27.

Twenty-six points had become four.

The impossible comeback had become very possible indeed.

Horsham were wobbling.

Hammersmith could smell it.

A few minutes later the backs attacked again, moving the ball wide to Tim Russell, who finished in the corner.

32-31 Hammers.

From 5-31 down, the Hammers had somehow taken the lead.

Pandemonium.

Surely that was it?

Of course it wasn’t.

Horsham came straight back down the other end, worked the ball wide and crossed following what can only be described, with complete neutrality, as a “very flat” pass.

32-36.

After all that.

But the Hammers weren’t finished.

Another period of sustained pressure followed, and Horsham’s discipline began to unravel. A second yellow card arrived, and the Hammers once again sensed their opportunity.

Up stepped Tim Russell.

Again.

The ball found its way-out wide and Russell crossed for his second of the afternoon.

Try.

Conversion.

39-36 Hammers.

What followed felt considerably longer than the entire preceding 80 minutes.

Horsham threw everything they had at it. The Hammers defended. The clock apparently stopped functioning. Several years passed.

And then, finally, came the sweetest sound of the afternoon.

The whistle.

Full-time.

Hammers 39-36 Horsham.

From 5-31 down.

Twenty-six points.

A first half littered with penalties, missed tackles and unforced errors had somehow been followed by one of the great Hammers comebacks.

Was it perfect rugby?

Absolutely not.

Was it unnecessarily stressful?

Obviously.

Would we have it any other way?

Probably, yes.

But on an afternoon celebrating the skipper’s 100th cap, the Hammers produced a comeback worthy of the occasion.

From 31-5 down to 39-36 winners.

Up the Hammers!