Hammers Ladies get the double over the Old Enemy!

Spared rain on Sunday, it was still a chilly day up at Hampstead Heath where the Hammers ladies took on their long term rivals Hampstead. Conditions weren’t ideal with a boggy pitch underfoot, but given concerns earlier in the week we were glad to have both pitch and referee available so we could get playing!

Hampstead have been opposition in our league for many years now so we know they are dangerous at home. They proved this in the first 20 minutes, taking advantage of handling errors to push their way towards our line. After ferocious defence from Hammers, Hampstead eventually dived over to score the first points of the day.  They missed their conversion to make it 0-5. Hammers refocused under the posts and immediately put Hampstead under pressure in their half. Hard carries from the forwards pulled their pack in, before the backs got in on the action to send Maddie in to level the score. The rest of the first half remained attritional with neither team gaining the upper hand. Things stood all square at the half time whistle 5-5.

To keep the pressure on the scoreboard, Chloe J kicked a penalty early in the first half to give Hammers a 3 point lead, 8-5. Hampstead had the chance to even the score a few minutes later but their kick was slightly less accurate, allowing Hammers to clear the line. After that Hammers kept the pressure on with excellent strength in the scrum from the pack and probing kicks from Alex’s boot. A strong carry from Hannah in the Hampstead 22 set up a lovely phase of attack with a couple of hammer balls carrying us to within 5 metres of the line. A great line from Alex saw her held just underneath the posts, setting back the ball perfectly for Carola to leap (literally) over the line for our second try. Conversion was good from Monica, 15-5 It wasn’t long before we were scoring again, this time with Sophie stealing the ball from Hampstead on their own 5 metre line and sneaking over for the try. Again a great conversion from Monica, 22-5, and now Hammers were in the hunt for that extra bonus point try. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. The cold and wind leading to a few handling errors and strong defence from Hampstead, meant that we were denied that bonus point win we all wanted. Final score 22-5.

Forward of the match was Carola for her great work around the park, strength in the scrum and excellent try scoring

Back of the match was Ella for her strong carries and awesome work in defense