Old Habs 1st XV vs Amersham and Chiltern 1st XV

Habs arrived at their first home game of the season expecting to face a strong Amersham team, who were back in London North 1 after their relegation from National 3 South East last season. The bruising encounter with Fullerians the previous week meant Habs were missing a couple of forwards with concussion and early season availability continued to plague the Croxdale men. That said, Habs still had a strong team out and intended to hit the physicality level shown in the previous week. In a frantic start to the match, Habs struggled to keep hold of early possession as Amersham disrupted at the ruck and piled on the pressure in the scrum. After a couple of Penalties were given away, Amersham kicked deep into Habs territory and soon found themselves 15-0 up. Some better retention from Habs allowed Ian McGee to kick a Pen and get Habs up and running on the scoreboard. First half finished 20-3 to the vistors.
Habs made a better start to the second period with Conor Michaels and Tom Jackson coming on at 9 and 10 to try and change the direction of the game. After another Amersham break away Habs got their first try of the game; sharp thinking from Conor with a quick tap caught the visitors napping and he got over the line. Tom Jackson, looking to get on with the game and carry on Habs momentum, opted for a drop kick for the conversion which just went wide. Unfortunately Habs couldn’t keep on the pressure and with Amersham’s fitness a constant, the visitors scored a couple of length of the field tries and continued to put Habs’s first phase ball under extreme pressure. A consolation try from Tom Jackson, throwing his trademark dummy to at least 3 Amersham defenders and sailing past them, provided the last spark of inspiration from Hab’s perspective. A tough game against a strong outfit and leaving Habs still searching for a first win back in London 1.