The classic cliché of a game of two halves, with the boys finally getting into gear in the second half sunshine. 

 A tough day out for the Hammers 3’s with a team of just 13 players showing up for the beginning of the contest, on a fantastic day for running rugby. A show a chivalry from the Grasshoppers boys coming over to play in the Hammers 10 and 13 jerseys so the game could begin continued with what was a rather one-sided game but played in the right spirit. 

The game started badly for the Hammers with possession lost just after receiving the kick off with a mixup between the Hammers 9 and the on-loan 10 leading to a kick through and a defensive lineout 5m out. A maul was called but the ball flew off the top to no one in particular which the opposition pounced on and scored. It went from bad to worse as recently returning Willy Brentnall dislocated his shoulder on the first run of his game and Hammers in need of yet another player from the oppo to keep the game going. The rest of the first half went in a similar fashion with the well organised and young Grasshoppers side putting together phases to score against a stretched defence and then pouncing on Hammers’ mistakes when they were trying to do the same. The half time score would’ve read a lot worse if it hadn’t been for a hard run from Jake Sopher to bash through the first line of defence before pacing around the full back to score his first of the day under the posts giving the lads a bit of hope that we could do some good stuff.  

The half time whistle allowed for some rehydration whilst Grasshoppers swapped some players around including their on-field captain jumping across to our side in a show of good sportsmanship that the Hammers’ captain would admittedly not have done so easily! The Hammers settled much better into their work and finally started pulling some phases together with big carries from the front five especially Man of the Match Alejandro Lopez, recently arrived from Spain full of sangria and vitamin D from actually having a summer. A few penalties to the Hammers led to a lineout in the oppo 22 and after a great maul setup, the boys got real close to the line before a number of hard pick and goes led to the Spaniard crossing over for his maiden try for the club. Roars all round and a new sense of hope that the boys in red could get something from the game. The second half ebbed and flowed from there with lots of running rugby and loose turnovers letting both sides into the game. A second try from Jake Sopher stopped the momentum drifting away from the lads before a couple of injuries meant 5 Grasshoppers were playing against their own men before an Oscar Newcombe consolation try made the final score of 58-24 look far more palatable. 

A lot of positives to be taken away from the game with the lads sticking in the fight until the end as well as an outstanding defensive effort at 15 from James Spice in his first game back in 8 years, and a great showing from the all the boys in the forwards playing a full 80 in the early autumn sunshine. Going into the half 36-7 down a lot of heads could have dropped but the lads were led by a captain’s performance from Rob McKeon carrying from the front before sustaining an unfortunate ankle injury on the 4G turf.  Tries from Jake Sopher x2, Alejandro Lopez and Oscar Newcombe, with 2 conversions from Tim Jones the scorers on the day. 

A game of two halves is a bit of an understatement. It was more a game of the first 20 minutes and the final 60.

Defensively the game started strong for the Hammers with great line speed and tackles being made. On attack, twenty minutes into the game things settled down and the team found their groove. Some great Rugby was played, but ultimately this was a team that hadn’t played together before, and errors let Teddington through at key times. The making of a good game was on however, with Hammers showing flashes of brilliance at key times.  Confident that they would gel in the second stanza, the boys nevertheless went into the half down 0-14.

In the halftime huddle, Ainsley delivered a positive speech to keep heads high. With the wind at our backs and running downhill in the second half, the Hammers came out swinging with a great run from Dan Whitaker. Sam Smith was able to convert the first try right in front of the posts to begin the comeback.

The momentum continued throughout the second half with the Hammers scoring two more great tries in the second half from Rob McKeon and Russell Wingfield. Sadly this wouldn’t be enough as Teddington was able to utilize a great kicking game and score 2 more tries in the second half. At the final whistle the comeback wasn’t to be, with a final score of 17-28.

Outside of a slow start and a few missed opportunities, it was a great team performance and an example of why you play preseason games to shake off some of the rust from the summer. With multiple charging runs, Dan Whitaker brought home man of the match honors for his great performance.

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 1^st 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 1^st 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

Hammers 1^st  team continued on the road this week with a ‘short’ commute out to Marlborough, for the clubs 2^nd fixture of 2024. The commute of course, included the traditional away bus quiz, in which Head Coach Mark, Lewis Litt (Big Josh) and Mad dog Maddigan took the win with a questionable 39/50 questions correct. The winning teams’ debateable proximity to the Quiz Master, Stephen Harris caused an outrage. It almost brought the tradition into disrepute and risked dividing the team before a minute of rugby had been played.

This weeks’ fixture was the second time the 1^st team had faced Marlborough RFC this season – some may remember (or have tried to forget) witnessing the Hammers drop in the final minutes and in typical Hammers fashion… losing at Home by less than a try. For the Hammers, it was an important game – going into the day, the Hammers remained steady on the ladder in 8^th place with 29 points, Brighton sitting above at 7^th with 35 points, and Maidenhead trailing closely behind on 21 points.

The day was clear, the air a brisk but thankfully dry 1-2 degrees. The Hammers lost the toss, forced to kick-off but running downhill.  Frustratingly, and is their way, they decided to also set themselves up for an up-hill battle, the opening kick-off going 10 meters backwards not forwards. “Never send a back to do a forwards job” could be heard from front row veteran and club stalwart, Rogan, celebrating his 38^th lap around the sun that week.

The first 20 minutes saw each team come away with a penalty goal, with VC Joe Carolan, (now 2^nd highest points scorer in the division (114)) knocking 3 points through the posts. Marlborough followed up quickly with an unconverted try, to which the Hammers quickly responded, with Tim Russel scoring not once but twice,  one under the post and one of the back of a driving mall. With both converted again by Joe, the boys started to feel comfortable.

It was not to be like that for long. Marlborough, known for their size and physicality, began to play to their strengths, putting several of the lads through their paces and testing shoulders and ribs. There was a notable late hit on James Maddigan, which could be heard from the sideline, however, the Hammers also contributed their fair share of questionable hits, with back row enforcer, Harry “Sid” Scarr sent to the bin in the final minutes of the 1^st half with a yellow card. This yellow could easily have been a red as, from some angles, Sid almost decapitated the opposition winger, but the Hammers managed to fight out the rest of the 1^st half without conceding another point (while being a player down). First half score 8 -20

What followed was a second half battle between the Hammers running rugby and Marlborough’s size and physicality. One more try from the Hammers, scored and converted by Joe. Not long after this, one arsey kick led to a late try in the 2^nd half for Marlborough, shifting the momentum into the hands of the home side. Hammers still had a marginal lead, which sensed a repeat of their first encounter with the home side and proceeded to lift accordingly. Our line was assailed, our sideline groaned – another late game loss was on the cards…

Que the bomb squad – the notorious and welcome return of Matt Killeen and Ricky Drewitt, who joined the game after both had a short stint away from the club. Putting out one of their better defensive sets of the season, and despite Marlborough scoring another (almost identical try) in the corner and almost levelling the score to 27-30. we managed to hold out and eventually see out the final whistle for the win.

Final score 27-30  to the Hammers.  Elation. Joy.  And Hammers ending the day with 33 points on the ladder.

Special mentions go to the Man of the Match – Alex Spicer who also celebrated his 50^th Cap for the Hammers 1^st team.