Fullerians 1st XV vs Old Haberdashers 1st XV

Old Habs secure the win in a fiery season opener away against Fullerians.

The sun was shining as plenty of fans from both sides turned up to Fullerians RFC for the season opener. There were 5 debutants on show for Habs, all of whom put in strong performances - despite Tom Pierce inadvertently earning himself Dick of the Day.

Habs applied plenty of early pressure and were parked up in Fullerians’ 22 for the first 20 minutes. Fullerians defended well initially, but consecutive breakdown penalties led to their big front row getting tired. Strong carries from the forwards eventually created space for Matty Barton to attack the blindside, handing the ball off to debutant Hugo Watson who charged over close to the corner. Conversion was good from the 15-meter line, 0-7 Habs 20 minutes in.

Fullerians bounced back from this with some powerful carries in the midfield and kicks deep into the Habs 22. Charlie Johnson with some excellent clearances from fullback to keep Fullerians near the halfway line for most of the remaining minutes in the first half. An unfortunate miskick from Will Dell led to Fullerians getting the ball inside the Habs 22 with around 5 minutes to go. Some strong defensive sets by Habs left Fullerians desperate to get on the scoresheet, opting to kick 3 points to close out the half. Halftime 3-7 Habs.

The second half began as the first did, with lots of Old Habs pressure. Habs looked extremely dangerous, stringing together plenty of phases inside the Fullerian half. Any clearance kicks made by Fullerians did not make them much territory as Habs continued to threaten. A slick backs move finds its way to Charlie Johnson at full pelt, beating 4 defenders to score under the sticks. Conversion good, 3-14 Habs 50 minutes in.

A gallant debut from second-row Tom Pierce was cut short by him catching a knee to the head after a line break. After a short pause in play, he was helped off the field by Rosie and will be taking a few weeks on the sidelines. After play resumed, some back-and-forth passages of play led to Fullerians making a break down the blindside and scoring in the corner to make the score 8-14 with 20 minutes to go.

Habs reacted well to the score and instantly looked dangerous. A crossfield kick by Matty Barton was fumbled by the opposition winger, which Will Dell scooped up and ran in from the halfway line. Conversion was missed from wide, 8-19 Habs with 15 minutes to play. Despite Habs looking threatening for the remainder of the game, they couldn’t find the bonus point score. The game was wrapped up on the Habs try line by great maul defence from the OH pack. The referee blew for full-time, keeping the score as Fullerians 8-19 Old Haberdashers.

Old Habs have a great opportunity to build some momentum against Chobham this weekend, who narrowly lost their opener against HAC.