By Alen Pazin, In London
The Hampstead Rugby Football Club fourth team scored a convincing win over
the Hackney RFC first division squad on Saturday, beating their fancied and
higher-ranked opponents 22-10.
Faced with blustery conditions and a swirling wind inside the Hackney
ground, Hampstead faced an uphill battle from the get-go to win the match on
an unfamiliar pitch. Hampstead also faced the significant hurdle of only
being able to field 14 players throughout the course of the game. Their
preferred hooker (some fat turd whose name I can't remember) apparently
couldn't be stuffed to rouse himself on the day of the match, suffering from
a thunderous hangover.
Hampstead's tear-away fly-half, Chris Toohey, was also in a torrid state
after an enormous Friday night on the turps. Toohey, who was overheard in
the wee hours of Saturday morning to say, "they are the best jugs I have
ever seen" to an unidentified punter, managed to evade most tackles during
the game by breathing a mixture of Stella Artois and lamb kebab on his
opponents.
Hackney won the toss and chose to play with the wind in the first half,
hoping to consolidate an early lead with the cyclonic gale at their backs.
Hampstead then conceded an early try, with Toohey struggling not to spew and
failing to create any opportunities for the Heathens back-line at
five-eighth.
However, directly following a Hampstead scrum in Hackney's half Toohey
managed a clever solo run - mimicking the selfish play of the great Kevin
"Hungry" Bartlett - before haphazardly flinging the ball to the centres,
leading to one of the Hampstead backs collapsing over the try line for 5
points. (The try scorer may have been Toohey, I can't remember.)
Hackney's balding fly-half then proceeded to pressure the depleted Hampstead
back-line with a barrage of wind-assisted field kicks deep into Hampstead's
half, but Hampstead's star full-back, Al Pazin - in the team again after a 4
game layoff - was superb in the last line of defence, constantly dropping
back when required and deftly fielding the difficult punts. Pazin's defence
was superb, and his return kicking stunned the Hackney backs into a sequence
of error-riddled play - prompting the 5 or 6-strong crowd to launch into a
roaring chant of "Super Boot!".
Then, disaster. After a series of blatantly corrupt refereeing calls Hackney
won a line-out deep in Hampstead's 22, with the ball flung wide to Hackney's
fat turd inside centre, who somehow battled his way through some magnificent
cover defence by Pazin. The star full-back valiantly grappled with the
Hackney centre and copped a scone to his forehead for his efforts, resulting
in a grade 4 tear to his eye-socket and a possible concussion. Bleeding
profusely, Pazin was blood-binned for the remaining three minutes of the
first half, during which time Hampstead's remaining 13 players defended
vigorously without conceding any further scores.
With the half-time score at 10-5 in favour of Hackney, Pazin - in an
unrivalled feat of awesome heroism - returned to the field with a piddly
little band-aid over his his right eye-socket and proceeded to kick the
living crud out of the ball, completely mesmerising the Hackney back line
with his tactical nouse.
Hampstead then completely turned the tables and proceeded to run over three
tries - two by Toohey, who continues to impress at fly-half, but whose place
kicking needs further work, successfully booting only one of a possible four
conversion attempts. The score at the final whistle stood at 22-10,
Hampstead.
Another stunning victory for the yellow and marone men, who would be
hovering somewhere near the top of their table, if the North London fourth
division did, in fact, bother to record the results of games. Hampstead now
face a week lay-off so that the boys are able to watch the England-Ireland
clash at the pub on Saturday.