Leyland SDM becomes club partner

Leading specialist in decorating and DIY retailer Leyland SDM has signed up as a new Club Partner, having opened a new branch in Hammersmith to add to their established base in Fulham.

The new store was officially opened by Stuart Pearce (aka “Psycho”) who we understand is rather well-known as a player of some kind of team sport with a round ball.

The Hammersmith shop offers a large range of paint, decorating and DIY products and tools, catering for both trade and retail customers. With over 30 years’ experience, Leyland has in-store experts who can provide a paint colour mixing service in a wide range of finishes and brands.

In addition to expert decorating and DIY advice, Leyland stocks leading brands such as Leyland Trade Paint, Dulux Trade Paint, Little Greene Paint, Paint Library and Farrow & Ball Paint.  They also stock a large range of building supplies, hardware products, plumbing and heating supplies, ironmongery, cleaning supplies, silicones, adhesives and painting and decorating essentials. There is also a dedicated timber department and a loading bay right outside the store where you can pick up plywood, hardboard, melaminie, planed, sawn & CLS timber.

So, if you’re looking for a paint, decorating and DIY shop, visit Leyland SDM today and tell them you’re a Hammer. They will be happy to help!

The new store can be found at 137-139 Kings Road, Hammersmith.

More information…

Blisters, Bonus Points & a Belter!

Only 2 hours before beers were being drunk and a very out of tune rendition of Gerry Cinnamon’s ‘Belter’ poured out of changing room 6, there was a huge task ahead of the men in red at Fortress Hurlingham.

On a slightly warmer Saturday, 2 weeks after a 1-point loss to Old Priorians, Hammers were up against a very tough London Irish opposition who had only recently beaten Old Priorians by 1 point themselves. A late change to the line-up saw Ash Mitchell replace Pete Clark at 6 due to illness and Pete Morris back in the starting line-up at 10 after a knee injury in September. London Irish kicked off and very early on earned a penalty which got the scoreboard underway – 3-0 Irish. Hammers knew they needed a response and after a scrappy first 10 minutes, it was Bryce Morgan on the end of some slick hands and some good pace to touchdown in the corner. 5-3 Hammers.

Soon after however, Irish earned themselves another penalty in the Hammers half and pulled themselves back ahead thanks to the boot of Henry Fuller. 6-5 Irish. Another response needed by the Hammers and that was what they got. The frantic start to the game began to turn into control and maturity, which after some good build up play and strong carrying, Josh Smith crossed the whitewash for his 7th try of the season (watch out Joe Carolan). It wasn’t long though before some more ill discipline saw Fuller put the ball through the uprights to pull the scoreboard back to within 3 points. HT 12-9 Hammers.

Both teams stayed out on the field for half time and after a handful of Haribo’s the second half was underway. The ironically named pick & go call of ‘NAILS!’ from Irish Hammered the Hammers defence. Some more steady build up play led to Bryce Morgan limping over the line for his second try due to blisters from his new boots. 17-9 Hammers. The momentum was with Fulham and after a brilliant turnover from Pete Morris, they made good use of some more possession as Man of the Match Ross Anderson touched down to make it 24-9 Hammers. Irish then awoke and came right back with some heavy carrying to make it 24-16. Game back on.

This is when the Tuesday night fitness sessions started to show though, men in green limped off but Hammers did not take their foot off the gas. It wouldn’t be a Saturday without a try from Joe Carolan and he got what he deserved after some good footwork and a moan of disappointment from Irish, the scoreboard looked a little healthier again. 31-16 Hammers. An AC joint injury to Will Donegan saw the return of Zak Underwood to the front row, and the Irish scrum was going backwards. However, some more ill-discipline gave Irish 3 points to add to their tally and they were back to within 2 scores. 31-19 Hammers. A smart penalty kick of our own soon took the gap to 15 points again with 5 mins to play. 34-19 Hammers.

In a frantic final few minutes, Irish pulled a try back making it 34-26. The kick-off was put deep into the Irish half and some nervy phases were well attached & defended by both teams. A turnover meant Hammers had possession 15m out from the Irish line – both wingers Tim Russell & Matt Killeen screaming for the ball to come wide, which meant it had to pass through the hands of 106 cap man Andrew Rogan. It seemed he had ideas of his own however, charging forward before changing his mind last second and managing to free the ball to Matt Killeen who made his way through 2 defenders to seal the 5 points for Hammersmith & Fulham. Full Time 41-26 Hammers.

Two clubs, both alike in league…

Two clubs, both alike in league,
In fair West London, where we play our scene,
From an ancient Hammers home win break to new mutiny,
Where OPs big hits made quick Hammers hands unclean.
From forth the line speed of these two foes
A pair of star-cross’d centres take their tries;
Those misadventured lineout overthrows
Do with their length bring their coaches’ strife.
The fearful passage of the Hammer’s near-mark’d breaks,
And the continuance of their opponents’ rage,
Which, but the Ref’s whistle end, nought could remove,
Is now the one hour twenty traffic of our veo replay;
The which if you with eagle eyes attend,
What most shall miss, our write up shall strive to mend…

1st Half. Old Priorians RFC. 1st Team Pitch. – 04:23 minutes in 

Hammersmith and Fulham kicked off to Old Priorians, 1st and 2nd place respectively in Regional Thames 1, armed with feet and flair.

Old Priorians – 12:36 minutes in

After an opening 8 minutes of back and forth with both sides showing potential but meeting stern defence the OPs gained a chance at a 45m penalty kick, which was well taken by their 10.

OPs 3 – 0 Hammers

Old Priorians – 27:17 minutes in 

After further ping and pong, Déjà vu emerged as another long penalty chance was presented for the OPs 10 around 40 metres out. This time missed, the Hammers recognised the need for caution in our own half.

OPs 3 – 0 Hammers

Old Priorians – 35:29 minutes in

Straight off an innocuous scrum a neat offload through the Hammers tackle let OPs centres join up and evade cover to make 30 metres to the line. The first lapse in the Hammers defence, and the pressure mounted. Some saving grace as the OPs 10 again faltered in the wide conversation.

OPs 8 – 0 Hammers

Hammers – 53:30 minutes in 

After much more a muchness the Hammers made a push in the final act of the first 40.  Two breaks in under a minute showed the danger the Hammers could pose, with the line twice tantalisingly close. But OPs dug in and covered well, forcing a spill and the close of the half.

Teams exit for halftime

OPs 8 – 0 Hammers

2nd Half begins – 60:57 minutes in

After a halftime talk Henry V would be proud of, the Hammers came out intent make amends for the frustrations and near-misses of the first half.

Old Priorians kick off to Hammersmith and Fulham with an 8 point lead and 40 minutes to play.

Hammers – 68:09 minutes in 

Capitalising on a scrum in good field position 10 metres from the OPs line the backs generated quick ball from the resulting ruck. Hart, the Hammers most eligible second row/back row/centre then made it wide to take the pass from Doctor Steve, apply the acceleration, and make it over the line in the corner just ahead of OPs covering party.

Despite lining up with the corner flag Captain Caravan fired a corker between the posts to bring Hammers just one point behind OPs.

OPs 8 – Hammers 7

Hammers – 77:00 minutes in 

With the game finely balanced after OPs quelled the Hammers’ post half-time momentum drama erupted as OPs capitalised on a loose ball to break from the halfway into the Hammer’s 22. A good chase led to a turnover and a moment of opportunity missed by Hammers as OPs piled into the ruck. The Hammers usual vision missed the mismatch as six fast players lined up against tree of the OPs front five across 50 metres of space. Unfortunately, orthodoxy prevailed and hammers box-kicked marginally clear leaving hindsight to rue what could have been. OPs then took another shot at the Hammers line but were held out before play returned to more neutral ground.

Hammers – 100:20 minutes in

As the final whistle closed in the Hammers eventually got the break they’d been working for with a penalty 40 minutes out in front of the posts. Caravan stepped up again and claimed the 3 points, pushing Hammers ahead with just under 10 minutes to play.

OPs 8 – Hammers 10

Old Priorians – 102:03 minutes in

Alas, the Hammers lead was short lived. OPs kicked off and Hammers gathered but got caught napping as the catcher got caught and isolated with the OPs 7 forcing a penalty for holding on in front of the posts. This time the OPs 10 didn’t miss, and returned the lead to the home team.

OPs 11 – Hammers 10

The Final Whistle – 109:44

With everything on the line the final minutes passed slowly, but unfortunately for the Hammers were all too reflective of the game as a whole. Each side cancelled the other out, OPs kick chase playing for field position and Hammers inaccuracies  limited their ability to beat the defensive line on the return despite extended possession.

Hammers lost the ball in contact a final time and OPs kicked it clear for the ref to blow the full-time whistle.

Final Score OPs 11 – Hammers 10

Prologue:

Despite being setback by another 1-point loss, Hammers still have the league title in their sight. With three home games in a row following the final break week of the year the boys will be ready to make amends.

 

 

 

Hammers 4s give Wasps a sting!

The date is 14th January and the mighty 4’s took a trip west to face a fierce (and ageing?) Wasps side who had a lot more to offer than anticipated. Hopes in the team were high following on from last weekends win over a strong Belsize Park team. We were lucky to find out that we would be playing on the 4G pitch because al the other pitches had been turned into swimming pools.
The game started with a strong outfit who were tested in defence. For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Hammers saw little of the ball, with some hard carries from the Wasps pack. Despite a constant onslaught, the Hammers defence proved impenetrable with some super shots going in from Rory and many others to deny Wasps 2 tries early on. However some penalties allowed them to take an early 3-0 lead. Turns out that sidelined captain Seb Moneys prediction that “the crusty old c*nts in their back line would offer us nothing” turned out not to be 100% true. After this first possession-less stint, the 4’s soon got some ball and the points started to roll in, with some super assists from Heapsy and company to put the Hammers 3 tries up in the first half.
Half Time score Hammers 21-Wasps 3
In the second half it was a similar story with rolling subs occurring and a tenacious Wasps attacking display rewarding them with a try late on in the half. Particular second half shout outs go to Will Gibbs for managing to channel his inner Haskell and run into the post instead of scoring, and to Joe Pearce for an excellent propping debut surviving a total of 1 scrum before being subbed off again due to a lack of practice. Two late tries and a late attack from Wasps gave them a final consolation score.
The game ended a well deserved 35-13 win to the Hammers – uppa 4’s!

Hammers Women’s 1st XV travel far to come up short against Hackney

It was another wonderfully cold and windy day for rugby when the Hammers made their way across London to face Hackney. It had been a tight victory to the Hammers when Hackney visited Hurlingham so we knew we were in for a tough battle. That was true straight from the off. Hard carries and hits disrupted the structure of both teams with many (many) scrums needed. It was a tight arm wrestle in the forwards up front with neither side wanting to concede an inch. However, eventually Hackney managed to break the deadlock with a break on the outside to score. 5-0. Hammers came straight back, camping out in the Hackney 22 for the rest of the first half to put pressure on the hosts but were unable to convert pressure into points.
After regrouping at half time Hammers took it straight to Hackney. Ill-discipline from the hosts allowed Hammers into the 22 and tight pod work drew the forwards in. Quick ball out to the backs allowed a strong carry from Kaye to crash over the line. The conversion was unsuccessful keeping the score level at 5-5. Hackney weren’t deterred by this and continued to bring the intensity. After possession changed hands multiple times, Hackney made their way back into the Hammers 22. Quick ball from their 10 and sharp offloading put their winger into space and over the line once again 12-5. Hammers attempted to rally but a rising penalty count led to a team yellow card for Chloe J. After another penalty confusion allowed Hackney to take a quick tap giving them the space to cut through the retreating Hammers defence and score 17-5. While Hammers continued to fight through to the last minute, it wasn’t to be.
A disappointing day but we go again this weekend against Wimbledon at home. See you there.

Hammers Women’s 2nd XV toil hard against class Barnes side

The 2s trip to Barnes this week was sure to be a tough game, facing an oppo who are challenging for the top of the table this year (and who’s 2s we played only 2 seasons ago in NC3!).

As anticipated, Barnes came at us from kick off with early pressure. Their speed and physicality made it tough for Hammers to build any consistent offence to match. Despite some strong carries, and lovely backs moves with fast hands, Barnes’ pressure eventually told and they broke the deadlock. 
 
Every single Hammer put in a shift that would make the club proud, doing their best to compete with a team that wouldn’t look out of place in Champ 2 (and probably will be next year!). The vibes throughout the team were immaculate, with heads held high throughout our toughest match to date. We know what we’re aiming for, and will learn from games like this. 
 
Onwards to London Welsh, a key battle for the 2s with the club coming together to support! We move #TWOOSH.