Rugby League

Southern Conference

Saturday 6th June 2026

Kick Off 14.30

Brentwood Eels 6 Hammersmith Hills Hoists 20, attendance 47

@ Old Brentwoods R.U.F.C.

Old Brentwoods Sports Club

Ashwells Road

Pilgrims Hatch

Brentwood

CM15 9SE

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen football played at Old Brentwoods Sports Club, back in 2019, where the game was played on the pitch that runs widthways in front of the clubhouse building. There’s then a cricket square, followed by another football pitch and beyond that, down a gentle slope, is the rugby pitch of Old Brentwoods R.U.F.C. running lengthways away from the building. It’s fenced along each touchline and has hard standing on the right hand side, which is where a seated kit stand sits at the halfway line. The clubhouse was open throughout and a refreshment/cake stall was set up pitch side.

The match was 5th versus 1st in the league table and was a much closer contest than I’d been expecting, as HHH are one of the big guns in this league. It took twenty four minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock, scoring under the posts and easily converting the extra points to lead 0-6. Four minutes before halftime they added a second try, right in the corner, but failed to convert, so went into halftime leading 0-10. Thirteen minutes into the second half they scored again under the posts and converted the kick to lead 0-16. With sixteen minutes left they worked the ball from left to right, getting a try right in the corner, which unsurprisingly wasn’t converted. With sixteen minutes left Brentwoods forced their way over the line, despite three defenders trying to make a tackle and added the kick to give a final score of 6-20.

It was a miserable afternoon weather wise, with rain and drizzle throughout the entire match. There was the usual two mile queue approaching Dartford Crossing on the outbound journey, but it was totally clear on the return.