Hackney club flying high in the table

HACKNEY Rugby Club skipper Charlie Davis has conceded that his third-placed side are ‘exceeding all expectations’ in Herts/Middlesex Division One.

Many at the Gogs were looking for a season of consolidation after three promotions on the spin and when they lost three of their first four matches, people around the club thought there might be a long season of struggle ahead.

However six wins in a row have propelled the east Londoners up the table and Davis is delighted with their progress.

“I’m really pleased with how the season has gone so far, to be third at this stage is exceeding all our expectations,” he said.

“We wanted a good solid season finishing mid-table, but when we lost three of the first four we were starring down the barrel a bit and worried about how the season would go.”

Hackney knew action had to be taken after their dreadful start and with the help of coach Ben Scanlon, turned defeats into wins.

“We realised after two games we needed to up our fitness and we made it a priority,” Davis said.

“The skill levels are higher and the hits are a bit bigger in this league and I’m not sure if it shocked us a bit.

“Ben saw this and he worked a lot on our conditioning as well as defending and attacking.

“The turning point came when we beat Old Hamptonians and we got a bonus point. Everything seemed to click and we have just gone on from there.

“Ben Chamberlain at number eight has been fantastic for us and his commitment to come and play every weekend despite living in Malvern is outstanding.

Alex O’Hara and James Dawson have also been key performers for us, while Andy Pilkington has been consistent at prop.”

Despite their excellent run of results, Davis knows there are improvements which must be made if the club are to challenge the top two, who are currently nine points clear.

“If we are to win promotion, I think we will have to win every game for the rest of the season,” Davis said.

“It’s by no means impossible and we have a bunch of ambitious boys here at the club who are playing with a lot of belief at the moment.

“London Welsh Amateurs and HAC are very good sides but we are capable of beating them.

“We all know we need to be more clinical inside the opposition 22 and our execution could be better. It’s something we have been working on week in, week out and we are determined to get it right.”