The Local Newspaper

The Hammers will once again grace the fields of Europe's biggest 7s tournament

Celebrating another great season for the Senior section at the Hammers.

On Sunday 29th April Hammersmith and Fulham Ladies boldly attempted to go where no Hammers team had gone before… Bristol….Only joking. The Ladies were the first team in Hammers history to make it to a National Challenge Cup Final and so made the long journey on Sunday morning in a 49-seater megabus filled to capacity to the neutral venue of Cleve RFC to face Worcester IIs. It was a beautiful spring day, the rain was lashing down and the pitch had started to flood but the Hammers remained undaunted.

The game itself was a stop-start affair with plenty of knock-ons by both sides. Although the Hammers exerted heavy pressure in both halves and had the majority of the possession, we were ultimately unable to turn this into points as we kept on getting distracted by all the swan dives. Worcester IIs were able to score two tries, one in each half and finished victors to the tune of 10-0. Although the team were disappointed to lose, we were delighted to still have all fingers and toes (frostbite is the silent killer) and look forward to entering the competition next year when we plan to go one better.

Thanks again to everyone who came down to support, if it weren’t for you we would have stayed huddled in the warmth of the Clubhouse.

The Rugby Football Union is delighted to invite you to a Touch London Rugby event at Grasshoppers RFC, celebrating the HSBC World Sevens series. There will be International Sevens teams attending, answering questions and signing autographs. Food and drink will be available to purchase at the ground, and the bar will be open too!

The event is for players of all ages and abilities, and will consist of as many games of touch as possible: if you’d like to enter a whole team, that’s great, but if you want to come on your own or bring a friend, we’ll arrange teams on the night too.

Plus there will be a raffle tickets on sale throughout the event, where you can win signed goodies!

The provisional schedule is as follows: • 1800 – Arrival and Registration • 1830 – Play Begins • 2030 – Approx. end • 2045 – Raffle Draw • 2100 – Depart (or stay and enjoy the bar!)

We expect great demand – so please email peteward@rfu.com to confirm your place as soon as possible! Please do contact me if you have any queries.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Pete Ward Rugby Inclusion Officer – Middlesex peteward@rfu.com

Also, visit Ticketmaster for an exclusive tickets offer for the HSBC London Sevens, taking place at Twickenham Stadium on the 12th and 13th May 2012. This link provides a deal on individual days (£5 off all adult prices) and weekend passes for £20 (instead of £35).

In the final game of the season, Diss RFC travelled down from East Anglia to play the Hammers in a game that had no bearing on the league positions for either team. A large crowd was down to watch the last game of the season and they got to see a fast open rugby by both teams, on the bright sunny day.

You could see why Diss were high up the league due to their discipline approach to the game with their forwards keeping the ball tight before releasing the ball to the back line who made big gains into the Hammers defence. Diss opened the scoring with a well taken try that was converted. The Hammers responded with a penalty kicked by Neil Richardson making the score 3-7 to Diss. The Hammers tried to force the game but kept giving away penalties in promising positions which allowed Diss back into the game. From one of these infringements Diss kicked a penalty to make the score 3-10. The Hammers hit back straight away when Ollie Peters scored from a quickly taken tap penalty that made the score at half time 8-10 to Diss.

In the second half the Hammers started to play the ball through the backs a lot more and from open play Richard Braithwaite score a great individual try in the left hand corner to give the Hammers the lead at 13-10 as the conversion was missed. The Hammers scored again when good play by Cam Beveridge who linked up with Henry Tanner who touched down in the right hand corner to score putting the Hammers ahead further at 18-10. The Hammers forwards had now gain control of the scrums and were providing good clean ball for Ollie Peters who released the back line were Neil Richardson was controlling the game from fly half. From one of these phases of play the forwards linked up with Cam Beveridge who released substitute Jack Sargent who race away to score a converted try under the posts, to make the final score 25-10.

Good team performances from every player in our last league match this season, against a good Diss side.

To celebrate the end of another great season at the Hammers and say thankyou to all the WAGs, we will be holding the inaugural Hammers Ladies Day on Saturday 21st April.

The visitors to Hurlingham Park this weekend were Chingford RFC and the Hammers needed to win this match to keep their faint hopes alive of avoiding the drop this season.

Chingford kicked off with the wind behind them and put the Hammers under pressure in the opening minutes, but the home defence was very strong and stop all the Chingford attacks with good tackling by Charlie Baillie, Rory Rigney and Alex Ratcliffe. The Chingford forwards were getting a little frustrated as they could not penetrate the resolute Hammers defence which was holding firm for once and Chingford started to give away a lot of penalties which force them back into their own half from promising positions. The only points Chingford achieve for all this pressure was three penalty points when the Hammers came offside at a ruck. The only thing that happened in the first half of any significance was a large brawl between most of the players on the field, which the Chingford hooker and Alex Scarrett were sin-binned by the referee after everything settled down. This meant the scrums went unopposed for 10 minutes, as Chingford had already lost one of their props earlier on the game who needed several stitches in a bad head wound and their replacement was already on the pitch. The half finishes with the score 3-0 to Chingford.

With the wind behind them the Hammers started strongly with the forward providing good ball that our backs exploited. From a line out won by Shane Dewar the ball was move quickly to full back Jonno Robertson who took the ball at pace and weaved his way only the try line to score a well taken try, which was converted by Neil McClure moving the Hammers into the lead at 7-3 with 10 minutes gone in the second half. But the same old problem surfaced again with the Hammers not being able to hold onto a lead for very long, as they gave away a penalty straight from the re-start which Chingford kicked to the corner and from the lineout they scored a converted try, making the score 7-10 in their favour. If Hammers were going to win this game they had to regain the initiative and they did this by the forwards exerting strong pressure on their opposite numbers in the tight and open play and this produced the required results when Jock Hayman won a lineout ball that was driven on by the pack and from the ruck Neil Richardson found Cam Beveridge who beat several defenders to score in the left hand corner to make the score 12-10 to the home side. Good work by substitute Josh Pettitt in open play force Chingford to give away a penalty that was kicked to the five metre line and from the lineout the Hammers score again from a try by Jonno Robertson that was converted so that the lead was increased to 19-10. Chingford hit back with a good try score by their forwards and with the added points from the conversion made it a close game again at 19-17 with 5 minutes left. The Hammers were now under extreme pressure from Chingford, but the defence held producing their best performance to date in the league. Chingford had created a three man overlap and looked as if they were going to get the winning try, but a floated pass from their fly half was picked off by Pieter Van Rensburg who sprinted 80 metres to the opposite try line to score making the final score 24-17 to the Hammers.

A good result for the Hammers as the overall performance by the team in defence was greatly improved with the backs having a cutting edge in attack whenever they had the ball.

It was a brilliant offload after an epic run from the deep, with Hennie de Jager (9) counter-attacking with intent after a Rosslyn Park kick found his open arms. The problem was his pass went straight to the waiting hands of the Park 7, who promptly sprinted 40 meters to score under the posts. Rosslyn Park 10, Hammers 0, after 10 minutes.

It wasn’t the start the boys had envisaged for their penultimate match of the 2011/12 season. After a 21 games of Rugby over 9 months of hard slog, the opportunity to win the league and climb out of reach of 2nd place Old Reigations was there for the taking. Based on an opening 10 minutes of brain dead Rugby however, the boys could’ve been forgiven for playing for a draw rather than the required bonus-point result. Instead of the sweet taste of victory, the bitter backwash of defeat began to seep in the spectator’s mouths.

It was at that point that the Hammers drew a line in the deer-shit covered ground. Far from dropping their heads, the sight of cheering Park supporters sparked a hunger. Those would be those were the last points that Rosslyn Park would score this season. It was time to take care of business.

And take care of it they did. After a stern ‘settle-and-get-your-shit-together’ talk from Captain Andrew Rogan (1), the Hammers won a turn-over shortly after the restart. Attacking with renewed pace and sharp hands, lighting fast recycling allowed Hennie to consistently feed Tom Winter (10) quick and accurate ball. The options came thick and fast, with powerful runs by Shaun Stephenson (4) and up-the-middle trundles by CCS (12) driving the boys over the gain line. Ably secured by the clinical backrow combination of Tom Morris (6), James Smart (8), and Simon Cross (7), the process was continually repeated as the boys ground their way up the pitch. On the back on 17 uninterrupted phases, it was Cross who finally scored, opening the Hammers account. The marker was down. 10-7.

Rosslyn Park came back hard, with searching deep kicks assisted by a typical force 5 Richmond Park wind. They should’ve run it, as the back-three combination of Brock Sanderson (15), Tom Hamnett (11) and Will North (14) caught absolutely everything. Linking with Conor McNaughton (13), it seemed only a matter of time before the boys broke through the dog-leg defence. Sure enough, on one such occasion the ball spun wide and found the hands of North, who crossed and closed the first half 12-10.

The second half saw both the Hammers and Rosslyn Park launch heavy attacks on each other’s chalk, throwing their big boys into the attack. Excellent line out work by Paul Arthurs (5) forced several missed Park throws, while their driving mauls hit the skids when opposed by Tony Rees (2) and Ade Furniss (3). The game began to turn when the Hammers won against the throw thanks to some excellent aerial work by Arthurs, but it really opened up after a crunching tackle and turn over by man-of-the-match Cross. Epic defence by the Hammers held up the Park over the line, and never again would they come close to denying the red-and-blue their trophy.

It was the epic super sub-work by stalwarts Lynch (12, replacement) and, Mr Beautiful, Leon Joseph (14, replacement), who clinched the title. Crunching defence from the Bar Fridge’s stopped Park several times, with the last being close to their line. The subsequent turn over saw the ball eventually find its way to Lynchy’s child-like hands, which he forcefully trucked over the line to take the try count up to 3. 19-10.

With time running out, it looked as if the last game of the season would be a decider between Old Reigations and the Hammers, however a lucky and final 2 minute knock-on found the perfectly manicured hands of Leon. Like a well groomed cheetah streaking towards a kill, Leon pinned his already pinned ears back, and with the ball tucked under his sculpted bicep, he did what he has done so many times this season, and he ran.

Except this time, he ran the boys in the title.

It was an exhausted but elated Hammersmith and Fulham 2nd XV that left the field that day, having to fight for every point against a tough and hungry Rosslyn Park side. And after falling to convert twice before their dominant season into a title victory, there was something so very sweet about this one. Everyone savoured the taste.

Well done boys.

The 1st XV won one and lost three league matches this month and as it stands will be relegated from the London North One league this season, unless the two teams above them are deducted points due to administration errors, which is not really going to happen at this late stage in the season. Can’t say much, as it been on the cards for several weeks and was not helped by the team having to use over 60 different players during the season so far. No team in any of the RFU leagues was going mount a successful campaign, let along avoid relegation with those number of changes in personal during the season. Hopefully the team can regroup and bounce straight back into this league in September 2013.

The 2nd XV lost their undefeated mantle that this season in the Canterbury Shield league after lots of changes to their team, but are still top of the table will only a few games left. Rogan will be driving his players to maintain their winning ways for the rest of the season, so that they finish on a high.

Both the 3rd and 4th XV’s successfully qualified for the semi-final play-offs from their leagues and were convincing winners of each match to reach the Middlesex Merit Table finals at Wasps on the 15th April next month. Congratulations to both teams and their respective captains, Mike Gane and Adam Saul for achieving this and wish both of them the best in their quest to win the finals.

Felix Whitechapel’s 5th XV side enjoyed two very good wins this month against very strong opposition that bodes well for next season, when they will probably play in the Middlesex Merit Table leagues for the first time.

I must mention for the first time in these reports our ladies team, youth section and vet’s side.

Congratulations to our ladies team, who have been undefeated in any competition since Christmas and are now placed second in the RFUW South East One league. Also they have just won a place in the RFUW National Cup Final against Worcester RFC (to be played at Cleve RFC in Bristol on the 29th April), after beating Halifax RFC at home in the semi-final 57-5.

Our youth section has grown hugely this season with a lot of hard work being put in by the coaches and children to make it successful. This hard work has materialised in silverware being won at several festivals and tournaments this season by the majority of the aged groups. Well done to everyone who has been involved from parents, children and volunteers in making it such an enjoyable part of the club.

Finally, the vet’s team under the leadership of Chris Hunt have had their most successful season so far, drinking large amounts of port on and off the field of play with Ali Lines, Barry O’Sullivan and Alex Sterling adding some much needed youthful look to the team.

Terry Alleyne Club Chairman

This year the Hammers men will be rolling into Spain's capital, Madrid. As usual cold beers and warm sunshine await along with fantastic nightlife and plentiful Hispanic beauties.

After a long journey, the 1st XV arrived at Bury St. Edmunds with a much changed side once again, to play a team that had won by over 100 points the previous week.

The home side soon had the Hammers on the back foot with fast interplay between their forwards and backs that produced a couple of tries with one conversion after 10 minutes. The Hammers responded with a Neil McClure penalty and a well taken try by Jonno Robertson that made the score 12-10 to Bury St. Edmunds after 20 minutes. This seemed to spur Bury St. Edmunds into action and they produced clinical rugby to open-up the Hammers defence time and again to increase their lead to 48-10 by half time.

In the second half Matt Kelly playing his first ever game for the 1st XV, helped to subdue the constant Bury attacks, with Charlie Baillie and James Buckley also making a lot of tackles to keep Bury St. Edmunds at bay for long periods, enabling the Hammers to keep the score to 48-10 for 30 minutes. But the Hammers resistant could not hold the impressive Bury St. Edmunds side, who scored a few more tries near the end of the game to make the final score 66-10.

On a very usually hot and sunny day for this time of the year, Letchworth RFC arrived at Hurlingham Park to play another important game that the Hammers had to win.

The game started with the Hammers moving the back quickly between their backs with Neil Richardson and Jonno Robertson making good line breaks into the Letchworth defence. But an over ambitious long pass by a Hammers player was intercepted by the Letchworth centre who sprinted away unopposed to score under the posts against the run of play. With the easy conversion Letchworth lead 0-7. The Hammers continued to win sufficient ball in the forwards to supply our backs who look that they would score if given the space out wide. From one of these passages of play Pieter Van Rensburg beat his opposing winger for pace and passed inside to Jonno Robertson who side stepped three players to score a good try in the left hand corner. The conversion was missed making the score 5-7. From the kick off the Hammers forwards infringed giving away a penalty that Letchworth kicked between the posts increasing their lead to 5-10. The Hammers hit back from a scrum where the ball reached Jonno Robertson who crashed through the cover defence to score under the posts, making the conversion by Pieter Van Rensburg very easy moving the score along to 10-12, in this fast moving game. The Hammers couldn’t hold onto this lead for long as Letchworth from a quick tap penalty scored an unconverted try to bring the score to 12-17. Once again the Hammers put pressure on the Letchworth defence who gave away a kickable penalty from the re-start, which Van Rensberg slotted over to make the score 15-17. The game was being played at great speed by both sides that nearly produced a scored for either team in the space of 5 minutes. Letchworth kicked a penalty during this period to increase their lead. But from a 5 metre lineout Alex Scarrett won the ball and set up a maul that rumbled towards the try line where James Boysons touch down to score a well worked try that was converted to make the score 22-20. The Hammers let in a soft try just before the break from a quickly taken tap penalty that was converted to make the score 22-27 at half time.

The second half was played in the same manner as the first half, with the ball moving very quickly between both teams who wanted to play expansive rugby in the hot weather. The Hammers were matching Letchworth for the early part of the half and were rewarded with a well taken try by the quick thinking of scrum half Ollie Peters, who saw a gap in the Letchworth defence and score a try, with the added points of the conversion this put the Hammers in front again for a short period at 29-27. Letchworth now woke up and changed their game plan and attacked the Hammers central defence and scored two unanswered tries in 10 minutes that were also converted to make the score 29-41, which put the game out of the Hammers reach. Also to make matters worse, Mark Blyghton the Hammers captain and tight head prop had to leave the game with a head injury, which disrupted the Hammers scrum for the remainder of the game. Letchworth now dominated the match and it was not long before they scored another converted try to make the final scored 29-48.

The Hammers played well today against a good side and gain a try bonus point, which will help them in their quest to remain in the league.

A great team display was put on by the Hammers 13’s, in South Park against a competitive Hertford side.

From a ruck Raphael Fackler picked up the ball and ran in to score the opening try from 30 metres which was converted by Henry Collins making the score 7-0. Some poor tackling by the Hammers defence let in Hertford for a soft try straight away which was not converted, so the score was 7-5 after 10 minutes. The Hammers won a lineout and the ball was moved down the back line were a ruck was set-up. Louis Dupuy D’Angeac passed the ball to Raphael Fackler who crashed over to score a good team try. The conversion was missed so the score went to 12-5. Good Inter-play between Marc Plantenga and Mathis Rosier got the Hammers into the Hertford half once again were they linked up with Raphael Fackler who passed to Alexandre Coyard who scored under the posts. Henry Collins again converted the try making the score 19-5. Hertford kicked off and Alexandre Coyard caught the ball near his try line and beat several players to score a fantastic individual try under the Hertford posts. This try was converted, putting the Hammers well ahead at 26-5. The Hammers were now winning all the ball and from a poor kick by Hertford Michael Byrne,(who was playing his last game for the under 13’s before moving to Scotland) ran the ball back before passing to Gustave Vilsboe who made ground before slipping the ball to Alexandre Coyard who ran in his third try of the game. This try was converted by Marc Plantenga so making the score 33-5. Hertford did score another try just before half time that was not converted, so the score was at half time 33-12 to the Hammers under 13’s.

In the second half the Hammers team won most of the ball again, but could not score early on as the Hertford defence was good, but also the Hammers were not passing the ball anymore and individuals in the team were just trying to score themselves without looking to pass to better placed players. The Hammers took a quick lineout throw, but unfortunately the ball was intercepted by a Hertford player who ran away from the half way line to score in the right hand corner. This try was unconverted, so the score was 33-17. This seemed to wake up the Hammers team who now play as they did in the first half and Raphael Fackler scored a great try from the 22 metre line beating several Hertford players. At 38-17, Hammers coach of the day Al Hamilton was very happy, but was looking for more tries from the team and he got his wish when Theo Tsatsaris chased a kick by Marc Plantenga and caught the bouncing ball and out sprinted the covering Hertford defenders to score his first try for the team under the posts, which was converted by Michael Byrne. Hertford still kept trying and they were awarded for their commitment by scoring a very good try that was not converted, so the score moved onto 45-22. The final try of the game went to the Hammers after a poor kick by the Hertford fly half was caught by Alexandre Coyard, who sided stepped his way over the try line. This try was converted again by Henry Collins, so making the final score 52-22 to the Hammers under 13’s.

A good team display by the whole Hammers squad with good passing, rucking and tackling by all the players who took part in this game.

The England v Ireland Rugby Legends will be returning to the Stoop to commence a fantastic weekend of rugby and St Patrick’s Day Craic.

Due to the wintery conditions early in the month only a few of games by any of the men’s sides in February.

The 1st XV played a better standard of rugby in the two games that they played, but still lost those matches to remain in relegation zone of the league. With time running out the team must now look to put a winning run together to move up the table.

In the Canterbury Shield the 2nd XV are still unbeaten and look to have secured the top spot unless they lose several of the remaining games, which is unlikely to happen if they keep playing the way they have been, since the beginning of the season.

The 3rd and 4th XV’s play hardly any rugby in this period, but both teams are on course to qualify for the Middlesex Merit Tables semi-final play-offs in March.

Felix Whitechapel’s 5th XV carried on were they left off in the previous month by winning there only game.

Terry Alleyne Club Chairman

The Hammers arrived at Braintree RFC in Essex, to play against the bottom team in the league in a must win game. Once again there were several changes to the Hammers side from the previous week that needed to win this game with a bonus point, to give the team a fighting chance of avoiding relegation with a few games remaining.

The opening few minutes was not great for both teams as a lot of handling errors were being made by all players. Braintree had the upper hand in the scrums and made it hard work for the Hammers to win clean ball from the set piece to release their superior backs. From a rare opportunity Ollie Collins made an incisive break and off loaded to Neil Richardson who scored a good individual try that was convert by Jack Sargent to make the score 0-7. Braintree hit back straight away from the kick off when poor tackling allow their centre to ran in from 30 metres to score an unconverted try. The Hammers then gave away a penalty at a scrum that was kicked by Braintree to make the score 8-7. The misery continued for the Hammers as they quickly conceded an unconverted try and a penalty that made the score 18-7 to Braintree after 30 minutes. Nothing was going right for the Hammers and they were lucky that Braintree could not turn their pressure into points in the last 10 minutes of the half. From one of the few visits to the Braintree half of the field in this period, the Hammers won some clean ball that Jack Sargent put to good use by chipping behind the advancing Braintree defence allowing Neil Richardson to win the footrace to touchdown the ball in the in-goal area. This try was not converted, so the score at half time was 18-12 to Braintree.

All the play in the opening minutes of the second half was with the Hammers as our forwards now started to make inroads into the Braintree defence with Alex Scarrett and Jimmy Graham making forceful runs that nearly produce tries, but the Braintree defence held out by giving away blatant penalties in front of the posts, which the referee took grievance with and sin- binned two of their players in quick succession for these offences. Jack Sargent successfully kicked one of the penalties to make the score 18-15. Somehow playing against 13 men for ten minutes seemed to put the Hammers in a trance and they played some of the poorest rugby of the game during this period, due to bad decision making in the forwards and backs. When all teams were back to 15-a-side the Hammers got back in control with the introduction of the three substitutes and started to pound the Braintree defence with strong play in the forwards that set up Neil Richardson for his third try which was converted by Jack Sargent, putting the Hammers back in front 18-22. Straight from the kick off Cam Beveridge made a fantastic break from his 22 metre line and Jonno Robertson, playing his first game since being injured back in September 2011, was on hand in support to score an excellent try that was converted making the score 18-29. The Hammers were now in complete control with Alex Dudley, Shane Dewar and James Boysons forcing the play into Braintree territory. From open play the Hammers ran the ball out of defence with Alex Dudley and Henry Tanner linking up to put Jack Sargent away to score under the posts which he converted making the score 18-36. Hammers scored another try from a 5 metre lineout from which they set up a maul so that James Boysons could drive over the line. The Hammers were still being pushed all over the place in the scrums, but Braintree could not make anything of this dominance as the Hammers tackling had improved and the forwards were winning most of the breakdowns now with lots of turnover balls providing opportunities for the backs to run at the tiring Braintree defence. From one of these attacks the ball was moved quickly through the Hammers backs to Neil Richardson who set up Alex Scarrett for his first try for the club, making the final score was 18-46 to the Hammers.

A good win for the Hammers team that needed this result to give them confidence going into the remaining league matches.

The Hammers Social Scene is back with a bang on Saturday 10th March with "Hot Tub Time Machine"!

On a very wet day the under 13’s took on the Bank of England (BOE) side in a friendly match on a very muddy pitch. It didn’t help the Hammers side that only 13 players had made the trip, so the team were up against it from the start.

The game was played at a fast pace, with both sides looking to run the ball from all positions on the field. The BOE had most of the ball and made good ground through all the phases of play in the first half. It was not long before they opened the scoring with their strong running centre scoring a good individual try that was converted. The Hammers side seemed to forget that they had to tackle players and the BOE players started to score at will running through the weak Hammers defence. Very few chances to score came the Hammers way, but some players stood out during this period, namely Raphael Fackler and Sarchyn played who really well in the first half. The first half finished with BOE in the lead 31-0.

There was big improvement in play from the Hammers in the second half with tackles being put in by all players and some strong running by Robert Power, Joe Proctor, Sarchyn and Raphael Fackler who made a game of it and worried the BOE on several occasions, but this did not stop BOE scoring two more tries. Hammers centre, Alexandre Coyard went over for a consolation try late in the game for the Hammers, which was converted by Henry Collins making the final score 41-7 to the BOE.

The league leaders Thurrock visited Hurlingham Park this weekend and it was going to be a much sterner test for the 1st XV, after their valiant exploits against Rochford Hundred the previous week.

Both sets of forwards tried to get the upper hand in the opening minutes and after a brief dust up outside the Hammers 22 metre line, Thurrock were award a penalty which there fly half kicked. Thurrock then scored two well taken tries to make the score 0-17 after 10 minutes and it seemed that the Hammers were going to be taken to the cleaners in the first half. But the Hammers had other ideas and fought back strongly with Jack Sargent leading the way by intercepting a wild pass from Thurrock and making good ground before linking up with Alex Ratcliffe who raced in from 30 metres to score a try that was not converted, making the score 5-17. From the kick off the ball was moved swiftly between the Hammers forwards and backs and an overlap was created that should have led to another Hammers try but the somehow the scoring pass was not made, so the chance disappear. But this didn’t stop the Hammers scoring soon after from a lineout close to the Thurrock line, Bart Casagrande won the ball and a driving maul was set up that saw Josh Pettitt crash over the line to score. Neil McClure added the extra points making the score 12-17 to Thurrock, with the Hammers playing the better rugby between the two sides up to this point.

In the second half the Hammers were still in the game up to about 10 minutes, when Bart Casagrande was sin binned for aggressive play at a ruck. During this time when down to 14 men for 10 minutes, Thurrock scored 15 points that put the game out of reach of the Hammers who only managed to get 3 points from a well taken penalty kick by Neil McClure in response, making the score 15-32. Thurrock now started to control the scrum area pushing back the Hammers forwards at will and securing good ball for their fast backs to use with great effort that product a well taken try by their left wing which was converted. Both teams were now playing fast open rugby and the Hammers were award with another try when Josh Pettitt drove over from a base of a ruck. This try was converted making the score 22-39 with 10 minutes left. Thurrock raised their game again and scored from open play. The Hammers made one last effort to score more points and substitute Henry Tanner forced his way over to score in the last minute of the game. This try was converted making the final score 29-44.

A much improved performance by the Hammers team who really took the game to Thurrock and for their efforts got a bonus point for scoring four tries, which Thurrock do not usually give up to opponents.