Rotherham Titans recorded back-to-back victories with a hard-fought 37-7 win over a tenacious Tynedale outfit on a windy afternoon at Clifton Lane.
Titans 4 tries came way of a brace from Callum Bustin and one each for Corben Ollivent and Fraser Jones on debut, whilst Lloyd Hayes added 17 points from the tee.
The final score probably doesn’t do justice to Tynedale’s dogged and determined effort, but Rotherham raced out of the blocks to effectively wrap-up the game after 20 minutes, having scored four tries and secured the bonus point.
The home side crossed the whitewash as early as the second minute when Sam Boxhall and Harry Dunne were involved in getting the ball out to Corben Ollivent who raced in to dot down in the corner.
Within five minutes Roth added to their tally when Lloyd Hayes popped a lovely pass back inside to Corben Ollivent on the 22, he then made good ground taking play up to the line, before offloading to Callum Bustin in support for a nice team try.
There was time for Lloyd Hayes to knock over a penalty before Titans had their third try on 16 minutes.
Following a period of forward pressure inside the Tynedale 22, the ball came out to Ollivent who quickly shipped on to Hayes who again slipped a neat pass back inside to Fraser Jones; the Australian showed good footwork and desire to scramble over the line for a try on debut.
Moments later a rampant Rotherham secured the bonus point when Tynedale spilled the ball on the edge of the 22, after some very effective in-your-face pressure. Callum Bustin collected quickly and then threw a dummy before darting through unopposed to score under the posts.
Lloyd Hayes’ conversion gave Titans a 31-0 lead and the script was set for a landslide victory.
However, the visitors chose not to follow the script and pretty much dominated the remainder of the half as they set camp inside the Titans 22. However, massive credit must go to the home side as time and again they repelled the pressure on their own line to keep Tynedale scoreless in the first half.
The second period was a more even affair; however, had Roth finished the numerous chances created the final score would have been much wider, but that was not the case.
An early Lloyd Hayes penalty extended Roth’s advantage on 43 minutes, but it was Tynedale who scored the next try just after the hour mark when James Telford took a quick penalty and fed flanker Ben Bell who charged through to score.
Remarkably the only other score of the match came at the end when Hayes slotted over his third penalty of the game.
So whilst there were lots of positives for the home side, they’ll need to be more clinical in their next outing away to Wharfedale if they are going to make it three on the trot.
Speaking after the game Titans Adam Byron said:
“We were delighted with our efforts in the opening 20 minutes, that’s exactly what we’d asked from the boys; we went at them and scored lots of points and we couldn’t have asked for any more.
“We understand at National Two there are a lot of good teams; so when you give them possession they’re going to play and come right at you. However, I was delighted with the boy’s commitment in defence to keep them out in the first half.
“I have to be honest and say I was disappointed to lose the second half 7-6. We did create lots of opportunities in the second half, may four or five, but we left them out there and when we look back at those we’ll probably put our hands up and say we should have scored.
“Our line outs were much better, Matt Smith and the boys have put a lot of work in that area this week and so it was pleasing to see the improvement there.
“But overall when you come away from a game with a 5-point win you have to be happy, especially when you haven’t been perfect because that shows you are going in the right direction.”
Referee: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts
Attendance: 250
Yellow Card: Poole (Titans)
Titans: Bustin (2T), Ollivent (T), Jones (T), Hayes (4C, 3P)
Tynedale: Bell (T), Roue (1C)
Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Fraser Jones, 10 Corben Ollivent (Taylor 55), 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps (Stout 40), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Inman 51), 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 23) (Denman 65), 4 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 5 Lewis Allan, 6 Marcus Payne (Kay 51), 7 Zak Poole (Capt.), 8 Callum Bustin (Payne 65).
Replacements: 16 Louis Inman, 17 Danny Rylance, 27 Rikki Stout, 19 Rupert Kay, 20 Jack Taylor.
Tynedale: 15 Rob Parker (Batey 79), 14 Adam Todhunter (Forlow 55), 13 Ross Cooke, 12 Will Roue, 11 Seamus Hutton, 10 Jake Rodgers (Todhunter 58), 9 James Telford, 1 Angus White, 2 David Batey (Johnston53), 3 Oscar Caudle (Carmichael 52), 4 Chris Wearmouth (Capt.), 5 Graeme Dunn (Dodd 53), 6 Jonny Cousin (Nankivell 18), 7 Ben Bell, 8 Ben Blackburn.
Replacements: 16 Ralph Johnston, 17 Liam Carmichael, 18 Jonny Dodd, 19 Euan Forlow, 20 Will Nankivell.
