Injury ravaged Hammers limp to defeat against Stags
Hammers came into the weekend on a positive note after a hard fought loss to Jersey where they put in an impressive performance against a tough side. Coming off 2 bad losses to Stags last season, redemption was on the minds of the players, but sadly this was not that kind of movie.
Minute 1, starting tighthead- Ed Wynne – injured. Minute 5, starting hooker – Dan Hostetler – injured. Now because of…reasons, World Rugby laws state that if a team cannot contest a scrum, even due to injury, they must drop a player, despite teams only being allowed 3 subs…. So 15 v 14 for the remaining 75 minutes against a team that loves scoring tries in the backs…yeah…cool cool cool.
What followed was a scrappy, error-filled first half from both sides. The Hammers, a man down, failed to execute basic exits and put themselves under pressure, however Stags – despite all the advantage arising from an extra man – continually knocked on the ball and failed to execute their own basic maneuvers. Despite their setback, our boys in red put up a decent resistance in the first half, trading early pens before Stags took advantage of some strong carries to score their first of the day. followed after by a breakaway kick behind.
HT 18 – 3
Hammers started the second half strongly, knowing the next score would likely be decisive. With no benefit in having props on the field in scrum-less game, head coach Alain elected to have Harry Boyd return to the field and make his debut appearance at loose head! Strong carry after strong carry led the men in red within 10 metres of the Stags try line, only for the ball to be spilled. However, with the penalty advantage, a shot at the posts was called and the deficit reduced to 12 points from the boot of Max Dugdale (10). 18-6, and the boys had momentum.
The first 20 minutes of the second half followed suit with a lot of Hammers possession, Josh A-A (6) and Ryan Powter (8) typically industrious on the ball (Ryan even continuing to expand his kicking game from pre-season!). The backs began to find some rhythm, but little-to-no reward gained with crucial handling errors and ill-discipline costing them dearly. Missed opportunities the boys would rue.
Following a period of sustained pressure on their own line, Hammers managed to secure a penalty, only for this to be reversed due to some ‘over-enthusiastic celebrations’ which Scott van Berckel (7) insists was misinterpreted by the referee. On reflection, this may have been the straw that broke the camels back, as the resulting penalty led to Stags first points of the second half, and ultimately broke the dam.
The remaining time in the second half was unfortunately very one-sided for our men in red: Penalty, Lineout, try, repeat. When the dust settled, a final result of 49-6 may not have been a fair reflection of what was a truly competitive fixture and left the Hammers disheartened, having worked tirelessly for 65 minutes, only to see it slip away in the final quarter.
Horsham at home up next and a chance to get back to winning ways. Expect a big response from the Hammers in front of a home crowd with (Hopefully..) a full compliment of players on the pitch!