ALL GOLDS HAMMERED BY HOISTS
HAMMERSMITH HILLS HOISTS 66 – 0 BRISTOL ALL GOLDS
Christopher Wilson at Chiswick RFC, Dukes Meadow
SUMMARY
Four tries in the opening 15 minutes set Hammersmith up for a comfortable 12 tries to nil win over a Bristol All Golds side that only rarely showed passages of play that made their opponents work hard in defence.
The Hoists led 42-0 at the break after a rush of tries in the last ten minutes of the half. Tom West crossed twice with Joel Strasser, James Russell, Tyler Rush, Will Jones, Charles Beatty, and Luke Morrissey, who added four goals, also crossing.
But the All Golds showed more intensity in the second period and the home side found scores harder to come by after the interval with Beatty and Russell adding their second touchdowns and Jack Ryan crossing for a four-pointer to add to his first half conversion.
The All Golds had just one clear scoring opportunity, but Brandon Lamb couldn’t cling on to Oli Winterbottom’s kick to the in-goal.
Beatty and Ryan’s tries came in the last few minutes of the game to push the scoreline out to 66-0 and show just why the Hoists have been champions for the past two seasons.
FULL REPORT
Following last weekend’s fine win over London Chargers, the Bristol All Golds travelled to the champions, Hammersmith Hills Hoists, hoping for a performance that would build on the previous week’s efforts.
However, they met a side in red-hot form, which matched the warm and sunny conditions. The Hoists were simply unstoppable, scoring eight tries in the first period but the All Golds put up more resistance in the second period, conceding just four further scores, two of those coming in the final ten minutes.
It was a tough day for the Bristol side as they only had the ball on nine occasions in the first period, completing just four sets. There was no doubt the effort was there, but too often it came in defence and chasing Hammersmith’s flowing attacking moves, which, for the neutral would have been a joy to watch.
Barely had the blast of the opening whistle died down than the All Golds dropped the ball handing field position to their hosts who quickly spread the ball left and gave Tom West a walk-in try out wide.
In the next set, full-back Joel Strasser made the most of a loose Hoists pass to run 40 metres to score, Luke Morrissey adding the first of his eight goals.
The All Golds had the ball in hand briefly before they were hit by two quickfire tries from James Russell and Tyler Rush, Morrissey and Jack Ryan respectively added the extras for a 22-0 lead.
There was no more scoring for the next fifteen minutes as the sides traded sets but the All Golds were unable to fashion any real scoring chances to grab a toehold into the game.
The All Golds’ best chance came and went when they created an overlap on the left, but Oli Winterbottom’s booming pass was too high for James Heathcote to reach.
In the final ten minutes of the half, the Hoists put their foot on the gas and ran in four tries as their pace and support play ripped through the All Golds’ defences.
Superb handling sent Will Jones in for the first, West then collected his second on the opposite wing before Russell’s neat inside pass put Charles Beatty in for the first of his two tries.
With the final play of the half, All Golds’ fullback Winterbottom was confronted by five Hammersmith players bearing down on him and Ryan ended up with the score. Morrissey added the goals to two of the tries and the teams sought shelter from the sun with the home side 42-0 ahead.
Under the trees, the All Golds’ talk was calm and constructive, and the second half told a different tale as possession was more evenly shared and the Hoists’ attack not quite so productive as it had been in the first period.
Despite this, Hammersmith had a try disallowed at the end of the opening play of the half but had to wait ten minutes for a score. Beatty shrugged off a series of tackles to put Declan Orr over under the posts.
By this time, the All Golds’ bench had been reduced by injury to mere spectators, and they had to play the rest of the game with just 13 players.
However, they held out until the hour mark when Russell dived in for his second try to take the score past 50. Beatty grabbed a deserved second touchdown with ten minutes to go and Ryan went over with four minutes remaining.
The All Golds almost had the last word as they regathered the restart and launched an attack, but Brandon Lamb just couldn’t secure Winterbottom’s last-tackle kick in the in-goal for what would have been only a consolation try – and scant consolation at that.
The Bristol All Golds now have a fortnight to wait before their next fixture in Hitchin against North Herts Crusaders, the only side below them in the league table.
MatchStats
Teams:
HILLS HOISTS: Joel Strasser; Will Jones, Charles Beatty, Kadison Millard, Tom West; Jack Ryan, Like Morrissey; Callum Corey, James Russell, David Eaton; Declan Orr, Matt Jessop; Tyler Rush. INTERCHANGE: Harry West, Eamonn Iheme, Leon Bird, Alfie Justice.
SCORERS
Tries: T. West (1, 32), Strasser (4), Russell (11, 62), Rush (15), Jones (30), Beatty (35, 70), Morrissey (38), Orr (52), Ryan (76).
Goals: Morrissey 8 from 10, Ryan 1 from 2.
ALL GOLDS: James Boyles; James Heathcote, Luke Davies, Henry Symons, Joe Capener; Ollie Winterbottom, Callum Merrett (Capt); Rob Davies, Adam Turner, Carl Thompson; Eric Davidson, Tega Rume-Tabiowo; Jack Uren. INTERCHANGE: Dan Short, Brandon Lamb, Morgan Lewis, Ben Cripps.
Scoring sequence: 4-0, 10-0, 16-0, 22-0, 26-0, 30-0, 36-0, 42-0, (HT), 48-0, 54-0, 60-0, 66-0, (FT)
Penalties: Hills Hoists 7-3 All Golds
Referee: Cameron Gray (RFL)
All Golds Player of the Match: Eric Davidson marked his first All Golds start with an impressive performance both in attack and defence with a series of consistently strong carries and high workrate in energy sapping conditions.