London North One
Old Merchant Taylors 10-30 Hammersmith & Fulham
Hammers fly-half Si Doherty scored a last-minute bonus point try against to draw level with local rivals Chiswick - but kept off the play-off position by points scored.
A brace of tries from fly-half Doherty - and scores from James Lo and Jack Sargent saw the visitors crush the league basement boys. It put the Hurlingham Park side one point above Chiswick in the table in second with just five games to go in what will be a nail-biting finish to the season.
Coach Dave Mannion said: “It was our goal to be in the position at the stage in the season and we’ve done that.
“These last few weeks are obviously now make or break for our promotion hopes.”
Hammers got off to a flying start with an overlap creating space for winger Lo to score in the corner, quickly followed by a darting run from Doherty to dot down under the posts. OMTs hit back with a try of their own and the game was largely even until the final quarter.
Just 10 minutes from the final whistle Sargent picked up a loose kick from the home side and cut their defence open with a jinking run for an impressive individual score.
With just two minutes on the clock Hammers won a penalty from the restart with enough time for a lineout. In Hammers’ last chance for a crucial bonus-point try, the ball was spun out to Doherty, who threw a dummy to go through and score the final try.
