London Three North West Hammermsmith & F. 15 Harpenden 44 A day that saw bright sun, heavy rain, hail and fierce winds, also saw Harpenden come within touching distance of topping the London Three North West league. The game began with some sloppy handli

London Three North West

Hammermsmith & F. 15 Harpenden 44

A day that saw bright sun, heavy rain, hail and fierce winds, also saw Harpenden come within touching distance of topping the London Three North West league.

The game began with some sloppy handling errors and the inability by either team to hold onto the ball for any length of time. After a scrappy few minutes Harpenden worked their way into Hammersmith territory where they were awarded a penalty. This was gratefully taken by Alan Barton and helped to settle the game down. The away side then followed this up with a nicely worked try under the posts which came from some good ball retention by the forwards before Joe Tennant, who found himself lined up against the Hammersmith prop, took advantage of this mismatch and stepped round the marker before offloading to Cornthwaite to score under the posts.

Hammersmith & Fulham then fought their way back into the game with good use of their strong running forwards and exposed some disorganised defence to earn themselves a deserved seven points. The remainder of the half saw an abrasive Hammersmith pack battle it out for possession against Harpenden, but it was in the backs that Harpenden found success with tries coming from Kearns and John Collins.

The second half saw the Men in Black play with the strong wind behind them enabling them to gain good territory and keep the pressure on the home team. Some clinical first phase rugby by the Harpenden pack led to a well worked try in the corner by Speirs. Alan Barton duly converted and the scoreline ticked along in Harpenden's favour.

At this stage Hammermsmith were still using their powerful number 8 to good effect and their half-backs were doing everything possible to turn the game around, but another good set piece by the Harpenden front row allowed the back row to link up as Hoare fed Tennant down the touchline to cross the whitewash for a further score.

This seemed to spur the home side on as they played some good rugby and got themselves deep into Harpenden territory. Some good pressure on the Harpenden backline led to a charge down resulting in a deserved Hammersmith try. However this was to be the last of their scores as the game welcomed Pattison, Collins and Peck to the fray. At this stage the game was wrapped up as two further tries from Speirs and Tennant ensured no miracle comeback was to take place.

Harpenden entertain London New Zealand this Saturday in their final home of the season. Victory would see them guarantee promotion and a barbeque is planned. All support is welcome.

Harpenden: Peters, D.Tennant, Bunn, Dumbleton, Hoare, Cornthwaite, Read, Arrowsmith, J.Collins, J.Tennant, Kearns, Humphrey, Speirs, Muskett, Barton, P.Collins, Peck, Pattison.