Wasps FC Veterans were edged out by a single point on Saturday afternoon, suffering a dramatic 27–26 defeat to Hammersmith & Fulham Veterans in a closely fought encounter that went down to the final minutes.

The visitors made the brighter start and crossed after just 13 minutes to take an early 5–0 lead. Wasps responded well and soon found themselves back on level terms.

A strong attacking spell culminated in Callixte Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre powering over for Wasps' opening try of the afternoon. Jack Lewis added the conversion to give the hosts a 7–5 advantage after 15 minutes.

Hammersmith & Fulham continued to threaten and regained the lead on the half-hour mark with their second try, moving ahead 10–7.

Once again, Wasps found an immediate response. Just two minutes later, Jack Lewis crossed the whitewash himself to cap off an excellent attacking move. He then added the conversion to his own try, putting Wasps back in front at 14–10.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Hammersmith & Fulham struck just before the break. A converted try in the 38th minute saw the visitors edge ahead 15–14 at half-time after an entertaining opening forty minutes.

Wasps emerged for the second half with renewed energy and quickly swung the momentum back in their favour.

Patrick Heekin crossed shortly after the restart to reclaim the lead, before Lewis converted to make it 21–15. The Wasps fly-half continued his outstanding afternoon moments later, scoring his second try of the game in the 50th minute to extend the advantage to 26–15.

At that stage, Wasps appeared to be in control and on course for victory.

Hammersmith & Fulham had other ideas.

A converted try on 59 minutes reduced the deficit to 26–22 and set up a tense final quarter. Wasps defended bravely and looked set to hold out, but with seven minutes remaining the visitors found a way through for a decisive score.

The late try nudged Hammersmith & Fulham ahead 27–26, leaving Wasps with little time to respond.

Despite a determined finish and several attacking opportunities in the closing stages, Wasps were unable to find the winning score and were left to reflect on a narrow defeat in an entertaining contest.

There were plenty of positives to take from the performance. Jack Lewis contributed 16 points through two tries and three conversions, while Callixte Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre and Patrick Heekin also crossed the line. The Veterans showed plenty of attacking quality throughout and were unfortunate not to come away with the result.

On another day, the one-point margin could easily have gone the other way.

Wasps scorers: Callixte Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre, Patrick Heekin, Jack Lewis (2)

Conversions: Jack Lewis x3

Player of the Match: Dan Back

Full-time: Wasps FC Veterans 26–27 Hammersmith & Fulham Veterans