Hammers open the season with a W!
September. The leaves? Starting to brown. The sky? Grey. The wind? Blowing. The summer? Didn’t happen. The preseason? Long. Josh AA? Still tiny. The Rugby?
Here. Now. In Brighton.
Having survived the promotion to Level 5 the season before and brimming with a confidence that comes from knowing they belonged, it was an excited and hungry Hammersmith & Fulham RFC 1st XV that travelled to Brighton for the first game of the season. And with the scores-on-the-doors for these two sides standing at 1-a-piece thanks to Hammers securing the away win the previous November in a dominant performance, only to have Brighton even the tally on the return, it was a game the boys were targeting for the win.
The first whistle of the 2024/25 season saw the Hammers receive the kick off just inside their 22, Ben (or was it Max…) Dudgale (9) taking the honours for the first touch of the ball and confidently kicking to touch despite blue-shirted pressure. A short Brighton line out led to their 8 trucking it up the middle, and then a quick back grubber kick found a gap and dribbled over the Hammers try line only to see Josh Daydora (15) ably herd it over touch-on-goal….but an overenthusiastic defence from the Hammers saw the first red penalty of the day. A blue kick led to a hostile line-out in our 22.
From that point, one thing would become clear – the Hammers line out was a weapon, one that would see Tom Proctor (5), Irish Josh (4) and later, substitute Harry “Barry” Scarr (17) putting serious pressure on the Brighton line-out all day. In this case, effective man-marking by Josh forced a not straight throw. Hammers scrum.
Here, Brighton was much more competitive, with an experienced, height-challenged front row attacking Ed Wynne (3) like dwarves trying to take down an Orc. Playing on the extreme edge of the law when it comes to “straight push”, it is a situation the referee will rectify as the game progresses, but it causes the boys problems. Regardless, the Hammers clear the ball, leading to a blue line out but one where the Hammers aerial specialists again show their class and win against the throw. Phases later, the Hammers desire to play quick ball sees a Brighton player penalised, allowing Max (or was it Ben…) Dugdale (10) to kick the Hammers into the midfield.
A chance to march Brighton’s forwards up the field…Proctor sees a weak spot in the Brighton line-out and calls for Dan Hostelter (2) to hit him at the tail. Up he goes, catching a dead straight (this time) line out, and handing it off to everyone’s favourite garden gnome Josh AA (6). Hoisting the ball above his head like the Greek God Atlas carrying planet earth, Josh eventually splits off from the maul and attacks the line like Ewoks taking on an Imperial Walker. He offloads back to Dan, who offloads to…Ben? Max? A Dugdale. A Dugdale passes to Scotty (7) who finds Oscar Newman (11) on the wing. More ground. Oscar is tackled in the 5 meter channel. Ruck…Hammers penalty! What will the boys do…
Kick to the corner…Proctor goes for the double jab and elects to maul again on the 5 meter line…the line out isn’t straight! Blue scrum, blue kick for touch. No reward for the hard work.
What is clear by this point is that this most-chronic of Hammers diseases – starting slow – is thankfully absent. Was it the extended warm up, care of new head coach Alain Van West (French)? Was it the 5 debutants pulling on the red-and-blue for the first time? Was it the presence of the Conor (Anal-yst), whose somewhat amorphous tackle-and-ruck counting meant there was nowhere to hide? It’s hard to say, but the Hammers met the Brighton attack with determination, the forwards soaking up powerful runs from their sizable back row whilst Marshall (12) and Eion (13) effectively shut down Brighton’s back division.
And that’s how the first 1st 10 minutes played out, Hammers starved of ball whilst Brighton probes, the Hammers biding their time until the pig’s bladder finds its way to their hands.
Thing change when Josh Daydora counter runs up the left-hand 15 channel from a blue kick…he’s hit late! Hammers penalty, kicked downfield setting up a maul 15 meters from the blue touch line.
Proctor wants the ball at the back of the line-out, and this time Dan’s aim is true. The forwards maul, Ben Dugdale takes ball whilst momentum is on and passes to Max…Max finds Oscar out the back who has come into line off his wing. Max hits Josh Daydora…he finds Marshall MacCleod (12) on the loop…who finds Tim Russell (14). Tim’s tackled…ruck on the try line…Dugdale goes for the snipe…score!!! 0-7 with Max converting.
The remainder of the half is an arm wrestle. Hammers play Rugby in the right areas and absorb significant pressure, with the like of Marshall and Eion Baker fighting to keep out a Brighton back division determined to play into a downward sloping left-side corner, and the tackling efforts of the Hammers back row of George Bagshaw (8), Josh AA and Scott VB absorbing constant round-the-corner attacks from the sizable Brighton back row. Eventually, the two sides fight each other to a standstill, the half ending at 0-7.
Confident, the boys take the field in the second half knowing that they had more to give, and 9 minutes into the second half they show it. Another not-straight from the Brighton line-out saw the Hammers elect to take the line-out option, which again see Proctor call the ball to the back. A perfectly executed maul sucks in the Brighton forwards…a pass from Ben this time finds Marshall’s hands, who takes two steps, sucks in a defender, and hits Max out the back. Max cuts in, creating space for Oscar, who straightens, causing the outside defender to bite…pass to Daydora….lightning pace up the 15 channel with Tim Russell outside him…2-v-1….ball to Timmy…scores!!! 0-12 to the Hammers.
Brighton comes back. They fight their way into the Hammers 22 after the boys, with their tails up, start to play Rugby in the wrong places. The Brighton 9 makes the most of a gap in the Hammers line to make a scything 30 meter run to give them field position. A Hammers penalty allows them to kick of the corner 5 meters from the line. Will they drive it…Irish Josh snatches the ball, but in the effort to get some yards Ryan Powter (18) is driven into touch for a blue line-out in nearly the same spot.
Blue line-out again…this time they try a cheeky line out move at the front but Rogan (1) reads it and brings him down. Brighton picks and goes but Proctor brings him to the floor, only to see his delaying tactics earn our captain a yellow card! A man down, for close to 10 minutes the Hammers defend their line with rigor, holding out scrum-after-scrum and attack-after-attack before the inevitable happens and Brighton crosses the line. 7-12, but the boys have successfully eaten up the card. Proctor returns to the field, chastened. 10 minutes to go.
Play restarts. Back and forth it goes before a well-placed tactical kick earns the Hammers field position. The dominant line-out shows its worth…the boys are attacking. There’s a 4-2 outside…Max sees a gap however and puts the foot down…he’s brought down agonisingly short of the line and penalised by the referee for not being registered! Brighton get out of jail and kick to touch.
Another line out steal from the Hammers puts the pressure right back on! More meters are made and the Hammers are attacking…but Brighton is penalised for trying to slow down the Hammers ball! This time the boys elect to go for the posts, and Max (or was it ben…) slots it neatly. 15-7.
3 minutes to go. Brighton kicks short and there’s a battle in the air…the referee rules it’s a Hammers knock on! Ed Wynne returns to the field and provides ballast to the scrum and the boys are immovable, so Brighton clears the ball to their backs. They attack around the corner…huge tackles from the back row…can they hold out…blue penalty! Time is dead so their 9 takes a quick tap…he’s tackled 5 meters from the line…ruck…their second row snatches the ball from the ground and finds the Hammers’ defence caught flat footed – no guard! Brighton scores! 15-14 with the conversion!
The try has come too late, and Hammers have hung on. It’s a great start to the season and the Hammers potential shone through, especially in the first half, but everyone knew there’s more to be done. Next week, Jersey at home.
Man of the match: Dan Hostelter
