Hartpury Seal Late Victory Over Titans at Clifton Lane

Rotherham Titans were left to settle for a losing bonus point after suffering a disappointing 32-26 defeat against Hartpury, with the visitors sealing victory in injury time in a fiercely contested Elior Champ Rugby encounter at Clifton Lane.

On a bright but cold afternoon, both sides served up a full-blooded contest that ebbed and flowed throughout, before Hartpury replacement forward Totoa Auvaa crashed over in the dying moments to break Titans’ hearts.

The conversion was missed, ensuring Rotherham collected a valuable bonus point, but there was little consolation for the home side after coming so close to securing a hard-earned victory.

Titans made the perfect start and looked full of confidence during the opening exchanges, racing into a 12-0 lead with two well-taken tries from their wingers.

Left winger Ben Cambriani was first to cross the whitewash before right winger Epi Rokodrava added a second, as Rotherham’s pace and power caused the visitors all sorts of problems.

The South Yorkshire side looked capable of enjoying a dominant afternoon, but Hartpury gradually worked their way back into the contest, demonstrating why they have become such an established force in the Champ.

The Gloucestershire outfit began to find their rhythm, combining some enterprising attacking play from their backs with powerful forward carries that increasingly tested the Titans defence.

Fly-half Talite Fortey got the visitors on the scoreboard with a penalty midway through the first half, before Hartpury took control of the scoreboard with two tries in quick succession.

Centre Ollie Allsop found a way over the line before hooker Will Crane followed him across, turning a 12-point deficit into a 15-12 advantage.

Rotherham’s task became even tougher just two minutes after the restart when lock forward Pete Paramore powered his way over to extend Hartpury’s lead to 20-12.

However, anyone expecting Titans to roll over clearly hadn’t been watching their performances this season. Their determination and never-say-die attitude have been evident throughout the campaign, and once again they showed plenty of character to fight their way back.

Back-row forward John Okafor provided the first response, displaying tremendous determination and strength to bulldoze his way over the try line and reduce the deficit.

The momentum was now firmly swinging back towards the home side, and Titans completed their turnaround when hooker Morgan Veness touched down from the tail of a powerful driving maul.

With the conversion expertly added from the touchline by Lloyd Hayes, Rotherham had turned a 20-12 deficit into a 26-20 lead and suddenly looked well placed to claim another memorable Clifton Lane victory.

With the game finely balanced, however, Hartpury were far from finished. The visitors had grown increasingly dangerous as the second half progressed and their persistence paid dividends inside the final ten minutes when Jay Evans found space to scamper over.

The successful conversion edged Hartpury back in front at 27-26, setting up a tense finale with everything still to play for.

Unfortunately for Titans, the decisive moment arrived in injury time when replacement forward Totoa Auvaa forced his way over to score Hartpury’s fifth try of the afternoon.

Although the conversion drifted wide, the visitors had established a six-point advantage and, with time for one final restart, managed the closing moments expertly to see out a deserved victory.

For Rotherham, there was the disappointment of letting a promising position slip, but their fighting spirit ensured they took something from the afternoon, with a losing bonus point reward for their efforts.

Reflecting after the game Titans Harvey Biljon said:

“I think it’s moments and that’s what we’re finding out; we’ve had a couple go our way this season and we’ve had a couple not go our way.

“I think the most important thing that should come through is don’t look at the league table, concentrate on performance.

“We saw it last week when Richmond beat Pirates; we’ve seen it this week with Hartpury beating us and I think our players need to focus on ourselves and our own team group, rather than the noise outside and around the place.

“It’s a big moment for us in the season, but at the same time we’ve come away with a point and with the new system every point counts.”

Titans: Cambriani (T), Rokodrava (T), Okafor (T), Veness (T), Hayes (3C)

Hartpury: Allsopp (T), Crane (T), Paramore (T), Evans (T), Auvaa (T), Fortey 2C, 1P)

Yellow Card: Crane (Hartpury)

Referee: Matt Sharpe

Assistant Referees: Jamie Leahy & Ryan Collier

Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Epi Rokodrava (Threlfall 70), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Ben Cambriani, 10 Russell Bennett, 9 JB Bruzulier (Jackson 52), 1 Zac Nearchou (Toerien 66), 2 Morgan Veness (Inman 77), 3 Tom Bairstow (Barrett 40), 4 Frankie Gascoigne (Stone 61), 5 Alfie Bell, 6 John Okafor (Ravuvu 79), 7 Travis Gordon (Capt.), 8 Jack Baldry (Bustin 40).

Replacements: 16 Louis Inman, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Lekima Ravuvu, 20 Harry Stone, 21 Callum Bustin, 22 Brent Jackson, 23 Tom Threlfall.

Hartpury: 15 Alex Morgan, 14 Jack Cotgreave, 13 Robbie Smith, 12 Ollie Allsopp, 11 Ollie Holliday, 10 Taite Fortey, 9 Cai Gealy, 1 Harry Edwards, 2 Will Crane (c/c) (Casey Williams 61), 3 Alex Gibson (Perry 56), 4 Jack Davies (c/c), 5 Pete Paramore (Noah Williams 64), 6 Cam Cobbett, 7 Harry Short (Evans 52), 8 Cam Murray (Auvaa 56).

Replacements: 16 Casey Williams, 17 Logan Clements, 18 George Perry, 19 Totoa Auvaa, 20 Noah Williams, 21 Jay Evans, 22 Sam Allford, 23 Harrison James.