A cold crisp winters day as Hammersmith 3s travelled to suburbia to face Harlequins amateurs. Despite the long journey and the cold weather the boys were up for it as the benefits of Dry Jan were clear and meant the numbers of hangovers were at an all-time low. James Lalor got his DoD performance off to a good start with a dislocated finger in the warm up, with the finger clicked back in place, Captain Cook got the boys going with a much needed warm-up.

Hammers were out the blocks quickly with a brutal break from Ed Miller but when he was tackled on the 22 meter line just short but Mike Cook was on hand with a great supporting line to run it in for the final metres with the ball. The boys knew the next task was to secure the ball and exit our 22 but with a few handling errors due to cold hands and a miss match in the backline Harlequins went over for a soft try.  Hammersmith quickly bounced back with a solid forwards try from a catch and drive lineout five meters out the maul was unstoppable and Captain cook was at the back to dot down his easiest try of the game. A line out on the half way line came quickly off the top and a cracking move from the backs involving both wingers with Billy Wickham just being stopped short of the line and Cook again was on hand in support to dive over from the 5. This ensured Cookie managed to seal the  easiest hat-trick the game has ever seen inside 40 minutes ! The Hammers knew this was going to be there game but it didn’t help when James Lalor then nailed down his DoD status by making a low tackle and bouncing off to then throw his arms around the attacker’s head/neck and receive a soft yellow card! The lads managed to hold off conceeding any more try before half time

Half Time 7 – 21

A comfortable half time score and a couple of substitutions meant a bit of disarray let Harlequins get the first score of the second half or so they thought only for there 12 to decide to just keep running forgetting you have to put the ball down before the dead-ball line, an easy let off for the hammers. Hammers started going through the gears and a great break by Jack MacGreogor resulted in and another interesting referee call gave Hammersmith a penalty deep inside their own 22. Then in his own word number 9 Nick Emmett “quick tapped and split through the defence, with just the 15 to beat stood him up with a chahoo goose step and glided past to dot down in the corner.”

Then some cold hands and poor tackling let Harlequins back into the game when their prop looking number 10 danced through our defence to touch down a try the whole team was disappointed about.

The old guard of Steve Harris and Ed Clark rallied the boys and a sharp queen ball by Hammersmith on their own 22 gave Cookie his final try and a try he deserved the most, when he broke through the inital tackle and was free with only the fullback to step, he somehow managed to run the length of the pitch. This was followed by tries from Tom Mohan, Ryan Grey and a 90m intercept try from Shagga to run the length of the pitch on his return to action for months.

Chad Buchner put the final nail in the Harlequins coffin when he got the ball on their 22m line and handed off their Fullback with a choke slam straight out of WWE and sprint to touch down under the posts.

Strong performance all around and a well-deserved win!

 

Final Score: 59 – 14

MoM: Tom Mohan

DoD: James Lalor

With the new year recently ticking over, the 2’s were desperate to put the back end of 2019 behind them and get some early wins under their belt. With some boys still riding the Dry January train, energy levels were at all time high and we were motivated to chalk up a win on home turf.
Unfortunately, Cornish sought a desperately needed win as well.

We kicked off with great intent but soon found ourselves camped inside our own 22 after a couple of soft penalties. Cornish would make use of this field position and go on to score first. Following this try, we received quite possibly the harshest call of the season when the ref said we were a foot offside on the kickoff. Cornish would go on to take a quick tap from half way and finish in the corner. That one hurt. 14-0 Cornish

Sam Nursery continued his Jarryd Hayne ‘09 like form splitting Cornish up the middle on a counter and after finding support Sam would link back up and go on to score under the posts, his 11th in the past 3 games… 19-7 Cornish half time.

Knowing that we still had a shot at winning this game, Hamish Baxter would go on to channel his inner William Wallace and provide a motivating, near tear jerking speech which instilled belief that we could win this battle.

This proved effective after some slick attacking play saw 2’s debutant Ian Downie soon crash over for the 1st of his 2 tries after some brilliant carries and support play by the 15 men on the pitch. Unfortunately, this dominant surge would only last 20 mins in to the 2nd half as we soon slacked off in defence and Cornish made the most of a few holes in our line crossing over under the posts.

A few calls didn’t go our way but in the end we were our own worst enemy. Our effort in Attack couldn’t be questioned but it was ultimately our lack of structure in Defence which proved costly. Full time 31-17 to Cornish

Definitely plenty of wins left in this 2’s team, a full 80minute effort and we will be well on our way.  A tough loss to cop but the show goes on.

 

MOM: Ian Downie
DOD: Slade Buchner (welcome back)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A surprisingly nice day brought in the first game of the decade as Hammersmith 3s travelled to Whitton Lions for the quarter final of the Bowl. The game kicked off with everyone still running off their Christmas dinners and hangovers, despite this the Hammers were soon in front though after a grubber through and a strong turnover led to a penalty, which from the resulting lineout the forwards drove over to score. Hammersmith looked fantastic in attack and scored several first half tries, finishing the half with a brilliantly executed backs move to put Hammersmith in a commanding position going into half-time

The good play continued in the second half with more tries following, however Whitton kept working and were rewarded when some slack defending in midfield got them on the scoresheet. Despite this set back Hammersmith showed ruthlessness to go straight up the other end and score. The excellent attack continued and more tries followed including Lachy who broke through several defenders to go over. Rob Vaughn then added one more pretending he was a winger crashing through the line off an inside line from the ten. The score could have been higher but Ollie Rea forgot where the try line was and dropped 5 meters short, making sure to wrap up dick of the day

Final score, Hammersmith 62- 7 Whitton, with one particular winger scoring 5 tries, Overall an excellent way to start the new decade, with lots more come in the coming year for all teams

It was a dark cold windy Friday night and instead of attending Christmas parties Hammersmith and Fulham got invited by Rosslyn Park to play a floodlit game which the boys couldn’t of been more excited about and to stretch their legs underneath the light with a crowd watching. 

Hammers were looking to bounce back from a couple of defeats and looking to reclaim challenge top spot, with a squad brimming with talent and both head coach Mark and assistant coach Nugget in attendance it was a night we didn’t want to let them down. 

H&F started kicked off and had an intent from the off with a big hit on the catcher, it was only a manner of time before hammers secured turnover ball and decided to work the forward up the pitch and before releasing the backs with Tyler running a steamer of a line slicing through Rosslyn Park and combining well with the full back Taylor to score a beautiful opener and the boys started to have a good feeling only for us to muck up the restart giving Rosslyn Park an immediate platform to launch an attack through and sure enough after a couple of phrase they were over in the corner, boys kept there heads up and looking to make amends for the error huge chase from the kick off saw Rosslyn Park pinned down in there half and looking to exit via a box kick which was charged down by Gerard only for him to gather and gentle stroll in under the post to regain the lead. 

After the last kick off we needed to nail this one and exit however a miscommunication lead to two lads running into each other giving away possession and another platform for Rosslyn to attack and Hammers to defend. The hammers d held firm putting in big hits before a scrum on the 5 in which they peeled off and scored from going into half time at 14-14 it was everything to play to in the second half. 

Again the hammer came firing out the block at the second half with lovely phrase play and gaining territory having won a penalty we opted to kick to the corner bold call when your 14-14 but captain cook called it. Louis got the distance with a beautiful nudge into there 22 and then it was down to the forwards to work there magic with a catch and drive line out split Rosslyn Park pack and big Henry went over. 14-21 now. However we started to struggle with the scrums twisting and turning the ref opted for advantage them on this occasion and a quick tap and out wide they went and round us for another sloppy soft try and then boys turned up the heat and Taylor re gathered the kickoff and set the platform for another attack bosses around by Marshall he found the magic ball that allowed Tyler to offer the switch with Taylor for another try and hammer heads were high again and wanting to close this game out. However there were going to be a few more twist and turns before that full time whilst. 

One of them being for locky who made the biggest hit in the game absolute monster of a hit took him up and bought him down in a safe manner however the ref saw different and had to walk for 10 mins huge loss but not the mans fault. Pinned in our 22 and with a huge scrum mr Ralph came onto the flank to support the scrum however props came up and reset and with the scrum and breakdown messy and a penalty give Marshall piped up and the wrong moment and also had to take a breather for 10 mins and wouldn’t be returning. Rosslyn opted for the scrum and with the front rows going up again and then going slightly forward the ref had had enough and walked under the posts and a penalty try was awarded gutted hammers were like let’s go back at them but with only 13 men it was gunna take something special and with Rosslyn Park tails waging in a game we should have sealed off. 

With only 3 mins left on the clock a silly pen allowed Rosslyn to have a line out on our 22 in which they secured and crashed through the centres with the addition players making a difference to score 36-28 the restart secured by Rosslyn and then a scrum with only  seconds left on the clock scrum they held out and cleared the ball into touch to win. A disappointing result but a great game of rugby under the floodlights. We bounce back next week. 

The day? November the 23^rd.  The opponents? Fullerians. The Pitch? Well, apparently the latest suburban race-track for their “local rivals”, but it was soft-to-heavy and primed for a forward dominated game.

Kick-off.  The game starts with a frenetic kicking contest, each back three playing a game of “No after you” whilst successfully missing touch several times (a theme that would continue throughout the contest). The forwards – looking upward in despair – wondered if they would ever taste the sweet brutality of contact, or perhaps today was to be a day for bird watching.  A Fullerian knock-on, and those concerns were quickly put to bed.  A scrum on the half-way line, and the hammers settled into early control of the game, as the “best looking pack ever to grace the field of play” (as one mature admirer of Alex “Rich Tea” Hart put it) began doing what they do best.

The Hammers looked good with the ball. Without it, Dave Arnot began demonstrating Scottish Rugby League Hooliganism at its finest by demolishing opponents on-and-off the ball with equal ferocity. It is rumoured the Fullerians coaching staff used their fancy intercom system to get a message to the referee – “ our 12 is really a prop” – and with this new knowledge the referee threatened to smack Dave’s bottom if he continued playing so hard, and told him to apologise for being too good at ending people.

It didn’t take long for Hammers pressure to tell. A penalty – side entry to the dominant Hammers maul – by Fullerians on the half way line provided an opportunity.  A touch finder from Ben “recently single” Hatton, and the ominous prospect of a Hammers lineout within their 22 became a Fullerian defensive reality.  A throw from Zac “howyafarkengoin” Halliday, and the maul rolled on again only to be brought down before the whitewash. The forwards backed themselves, and inspired by Boris Johnston’s tactical nous, prorogued the back line and resorted to pick-and-go’s. Angus “Who wants stash” Lean finally crossing the try-line for Hammers’ first points.  A conversion from Ben “Bumble” Hatton and the Hammers were 7-0 up. 3 points quickly followed from a penalty and the Hammers stretched to 0-10 lead.

Unfortunately the remainder of the half’s last 20 minutes was a great example of how not to play Rugby, score tries, or defend a lead. Notable line breaks from James Lo, and Alex Gee came to naught. Complacency bled into a disillusionment and like Brexit, the Hammers stalled after a strong start.  Fullerians pressed hard to capitalise with 10 minutes to go in the half. A well-worked try in the corner accompanied by a kick which defied both skill and physics resulted in a 7-10 score line, and with a few minutes to half time another penalty saw the score line levelled at 10-10.  Well done to our opposition for taking their opportunities.

The second half began with the words of Coach Mark “Do I look like a B###t” Jackson, ringing in the Hammers ears. With light fading the kicks didn’t get any better, but the intensity and desire did, with Jacob “Insta Rig” Poulton musing after the game, “At times I was unsure if we were playing man or beast it was that dark”.

The pressure finally became too much for Fullerians, who decided it was easier to play with 13 men. The first yellow for after some back chat from their captain, and the second a shoulder charge on Steve “The Doctor” John.  A penalty from Ben “Right Swipe” Hatton regained the Hammers Lead 10-13.

The game resumed, a kick-off, and for a match with few notable highlights (or light by this stage for that matter)  into the fell clutch of circumstance, and by that we mean that Jordan “Get me some Vaseline” Abbott caught the kick off under considerable pressure.  Soaring like Dumbo the elephant on the 10m line, he caught the pill and charged the Fullerian forwards.  A strong run ended about 30 meters later, from which he emerged covered in blood from a slight nose bleed.

More darkness, more pick-and-go’s and the Hammers found themselves once again camped in the Fullerians 22. Phase upon phase of pressure resulted in Pete “all smiles” Benson crossing the whitewash to put the Hammers 10 points clear again.  It was a lead that was held on to until the final whistle, by which time the game was being played by the light of the moon.

MOM: Jacob Poulton, for his strong work up front in a day dominated by the piggies.

Tin Man: Ben “Love me” Hatton, for his awesome box kicks that regularly went exactly where he and the rest of the team wanted them to go.