Titans Claim First Bonus-Point Win with Impressive Richmond Victory

Rotherham Titans produced an impressive all-round performance to secure a 29-14 victory over Richmond at the Athletic Ground, collecting their first bonus-point win of the Elior Champ Rugby season.

On a bright afternoon in south-west London, Titans outscored their hosts by five tries to two to record their first away victory of the campaign. The result, their fourth win from the opening five rounds, lifts the newly promoted South Yorkshire side into fourth place in the league table.

Titans made the perfect start, with number eight Lekima Ravuvu crashing over inside the opening five minutes to lay down an early marker and underline the visitors’ attacking intent.

Richmond responded positively, however, and hooker Will Goffey crossed to bring the scores level. But rather than allowing the hosts to build momentum, Rotherham tightened their grip on proceedings, producing a disciplined defensive display that frustrated Richmond and restricted their opportunities.

The visitors’ dominance was eventually rewarded just beyond the half-hour mark. Showing patience and precision, Titans worked the ball from a lineout before fly-half Russell Bennett dotted down in the corner to restore their advantage.

With half-time approaching, Rotherham struck twice in a devastating spell that left Richmond facing an uphill battle.

First, winger Ben Cambriani produced a moment of individual brilliance, slicing through the home defence and racing some 50 metres downfield before providing the perfect pass for John Okafor to finish a sensational try.

There was still time for one more score before the interval, and Titans duly delivered. Once again, their powerful forward pack laid the foundations, allowing Cambriani to finish in the corner and cap a dominant first-half display.

The conversion took Rotherham into the break with a commanding 22-7 lead and firmly in control of the contest.

The second half proved just as competitive, although the defences enjoyed greater success in keeping the attacking threats at bay. Richmond continued to battle hard in an effort to find a way back into the game, while Titans remained composed and disciplined, refusing to allow the hosts a route back into contention.

The decisive moment arrived with just 10 minutes remaining. Having laid the foundations for Cambriani’s first-half score, the Titans pack once again demonstrated its power as a formidable driving maul carried the visitors towards the line. Replacement hooker Dewald Kotze was on hand to finish the move, securing Rotherham’s fifth try and confirming the bonus-point victory.

Credit must go to Richmond, who continued to compete until the final whistle and were rewarded with a late consolation try through centre Tom Riman.

However, the afternoon belonged to Titans, whose combination of defensive resilience, forward power and attacking quality earned them a deserved victory on the road.

After an encouraging start to life in the Champ, the result provides further evidence of Rotherham’s growing confidence at the higher level. Four victories from five matches represent an excellent return for the newly promoted side, who can now enjoy a few days’ rest before turning their attention to their next challenge.

Titans return to Clifton Lane a week on Sunday, when Cornish Pirates provide the opposition as they look to build on their impressive start and maintain their place among the league’s leading sides.

Commenting afterwards a delighted Harvey Biljon said:

“I think what people do not always see is the disruption behind the scenes; we had to make two late changes this morning, but we could still come down here and get a result.

“That is a huge effort from the players considering the early start we had this morning and then playing a game at 4 o’clock. But the effort that those guys have put in today, they can be really proud of that performance.

“We are really pleased with how things have gone. You could see the emotion from Richmond, and they worked so hard to keep us out, but for us to get the scores we did and to get five tries was outstanding.”

Titans: Ravuvu (T), Okafor (T), Cambriani (T), Kotze (T), Bennett (T, C), Hayes (C)

Richmond: Goffey (T), Riman (T), Grieve (2C)

Yellow Card: Case (Richmond)

Referee: Jonathan Cook

Assistant Referees: Mike Hudson & Gareth Holsgrove

Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Jackson Barling, 13 Lloyd Hayes (Lacey-Babalola 68), 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Ben Cambriani, 10 Russell Bennett, 9 JB Bruzulier (Nordli-Kelemeti 59), 1 Zac Nearchou (Toerien 69), 2 Morgan Veness (Kotze 59), 3 Corrie Barrett (Bairstow 59), 4 Frankie Gascoigne (Louis Guthrie 40), 5 John Okafor, 6 Ellis Thomas (Stone 68), 7 Travis Gordon (Capt.), 8 Lekima Ravuvu (Bustin 47).

Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Tom Bairstow, 19 Louis Guthrie, 20 Harry Stone, 21 Callum Bustin, 22 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 23 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola.

Richmond: 15 Callum Grieve, 14 Greg Kitson (Dardis 59), 13 Paddy Case (Capt.), 12 Tom Riman, 11 Josh Addams, 10 Jason Baggott (Brosch 68), 9 Matt Marsh (Schwarz 51), 1 Chris Freeman (Bevacqua 44), 2 Will Goffey (Hocking 44), 3 Luke Spring (Griffin 57), 4 Charlie Bell, 5 Fred Hosking (Wakeling 61), 6 Jake Monson, 7 Jared Cardew (Wills 61), 8 Xavier Hastings.

Replacements: 16 Harry Hocking, 17 Theo Bevacqua, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Henry Wills, 20 Miles Wakeling, 21 Alex Schwarz, 22 Sam Dardis, 23 Archie Brosch.