Fylde 21 Titans 17

Rotherham Titans suffered their first defeat of the season, as they went down 21-17 to Fylde on a windy afternoon at Woodlands.

In a highly competitive game which could have gone either way, Titans will rue not finishing off their opportunities, but can take some solace in picking up the losing bonus point to keep themselves in the hunt at the sharp end of the table.

Despite winning the second half and outscoring their hosts by 3 tries to 2, Rotherham left the North West hugely disappointed at losing their unbeaten record for the season.

After scoring their third try late on Rotherham hoped to snatch a late win; unfortunately for them referee Ben Rayner had announced that time was up 30 seconds into injury time; no doubt to the relief of the dignitaries and supporters on the balcony overlooking the clubhouse end of the ground.

In a first half that saw Rotherham enjoy large periods of territory and possession in good areas of the field, it was in fact Fylde who scored the only points with two penalties from fly half Greg Smith; his first came as early as the 3rd minute and his second came with the last kick of the half in the fourth minute of injury time.

Roth thought they had scored twice in the opening period, as in the 6th minute hooker Harry Newborn broke off a maul to charge over the line, but unfortunately for him when referee Rayner got there he deemed Fylde had held the ball up, as he did in the 38th minute when Zak Poole crashed over after a dominant Roth scrum turned over possession.

Fylde extended their advantage early in the second half with Smith’s third penalty.

However, Roth finally got on the board in the 47th minute when centre Harry Dunne finished off a nice try following good work in the build up from Callum Bustin and Jamie Cooke. Matt Minogue’s conversion effort narrowly missed the left upright.

Then in a 10 minute spell which ultimately decided the game, Fylde crossed the whitewash twice through scrum half Matt Sturgess and winger Henry Hadfield to give them a healthy 21-5 lead.

Titans battled back on 70 minutes when number 8 Callum Bustin powered over from a catch and drive close to the line and he did so again in the final play of the match to earn his side a losing bonus point.

Roth will no doubt feel, that whilst they lost to a very good side, they let this one slip away and there’s little doubt too that the South Yorkshire side will now dust themselves down and be ready to go again next week against third placed side Stourbridge.

Speaking afterwards Titans’ Adam Byron said:

“Fylde is a really tough place to come, they have a big wide pitch and that’s not something we are used to compared to Clifton Lane; but the frustration is I felt we came across and put in a performance.

“We gave ourselves opportunities and we put ourselves in good positions, but we weren’t clinical enough when we needed to be. So it almost feels like the game was won, but in those final 5 metres we didn’t come away with the points and the frustration is the game was there to be won and we didn’t grasp that opportunity.

“I’m also frustrated because I feel with this squad of players we can win every game we are involved with, whether that is at home or away and that has to be our mentality from here on in.

“For the majority of the game we did everything right; we played in the right areas, we’ve won the penalties and put it into the corner, we just weren’t clinical enough in that area today.

“Maybe we’ve relied on that area too much and we need to look at other areas of our game as well, but I felt we did enough to win the game, we just didn’t finish it off today.”

Referee: Ben Rayner

Attendance: 800

Yellow Card: Garrod (Fylde)

Titans: Bustin (2T), Dunne (T), Minogue (1C)

Fylde: Sturgess (T), Hadfield (T), Smith (3P, C)

Titans: 15 Matt Minogue, 14 Connor Field, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Harry Newborn, 27 Rikki Stout, 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Theo Nwosu-Hope (Williams 54), 7 Zak Poole (Capt), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 19 Tomos Richardson, 18 Alastair Donkor, 28 Matti Williams, 20 Jonny West.

Fylde: 15 Tom Carleton, 14 Henry Hadfield, 13 Joe Bedlow, 12 Scott Rawlings (Forster 72), 11 Tom Grimes (Lanigan 31), 10 Greg Smith, 9 Matt Sturgess, 1 Sam Kyle-Clay (Barrow 41), 16 Ben Gregory (Capt.), 3 Corey Bowker (Ashcroft 41), 4 Olli Parkinson, 5 Matt Garrod, 6 Harlan Corrie, 7 Ben O’Ryan (Partington 62), 8 David Fairbrother.

Replacements: 17 Zack Barrow, 18 Matt Ashcroft, 23 Charlie Partington, 20 Tom Forster, 19 Adam Lanigan.

Titans 59 Blaydon 7

Rotherham Titans returned to winning ways with an impressive nine try to one victory over a willing Blaydon side on a cool afternoon at Clifton Lane, as they ran out 59-7 winners.

The victory sees Titans remain unbeaten in the league to maintain their title aspirations, as they now look towards next week’s tough away challenge at Fylde.

The match itself saw Titans dominate in most aspects as they scored five first half tries and another four in the second period.

Hooker Harry Newborn dotted down for Titans first after good work in the build up from Joe Carlisle and Matt Smith.

Roth’s second came after they pushed Blaydon off their own scrum inside the 22; scrum half Sam Boxhall was on hand to collect and he fed Zak Poole who in turn sent in winger Connor Field to score in the corner.

To be fair, Blaydon never stopped working and they always looked to play rugby whenever they had possession.

On 27 minutes they scored their only points of the game with a really nice try when fly half Jonny Dowell fed a pass back inside to Alex Charlton, the big second rower proceeded to gallop in from over 60 metres, as the Roth defence opened up.

Normal service was quickly resumed however, as just 4 minutes later Keifer Laxton crashed over for a try from a line out close to the line.

Titans fourth and fifth tries followed shortly afterwards as centre Lloyd Hayes exploited a gap in the Blaydon defence to cruise through and then Connor Field nipped in for his second in the corner as Lloyd Hayes and Matt Minogue combined to send him in.

The second half continued in the same manner and Titans next two tries followed quickly. This time Roth’s number 8 Callum Bustin scored a brace inside the opening 7 minutes.

His first was from close range after Zak Poole sent him in following turnover ball and the second saw him race in from 30 metres having collected a nice little pass from Theo Nwosu-Hope, before skilfully sidestepping the full back to dot down underneath the posts.

Titans’ penultimate try of the game came from Matti Williams; he raced in from 20 metres having received a pass from Matt Minogue. Williams still had work to do, but slick footwork and good strength enabled him to power over.

It was fitting that the final try of the game went to skipper Zak Poole; he rounded off an excellent personal and team performance, as he was on hand to finish off a cross-field move late on in the game.

Matt Minogue made a good contribution both in terms of playing at full back for the first time for a while and with the boot as he impressed with seven successful kicks at goal.

Titans will now prepare hard for what is sure to be a stiff challenge next time out away at third place Fylde.

Speaking on the pitch after the game Titans’ Adam Byron said:

“We are obviously very pleased and it’s nice to get nine tries on the board. It’s a difficult one because when you look at the table people may expect that kind of result, but that doesn’t just happen, the boys put a real shift in to make it happen.

“At times we had to put in some huge defensive sets, they literally ran it from everywhere and hats off to them for that approach, because they made us have to deal with something unexpected. We are used to teams tapping and going and playing quickly, but they literally ran it from everywhere.

“The boys stayed patient, we had to be organised and keep our width in defence whether that was on their five metre line or ours and the lads did that very well.

“Our work-ons this week were quite simple, we needed to make sure that we played our own game, played in the right areas and when we got into those areas to be clinical and that’s how it turned out.

“So we are where we want to be, we are still undefeated to this point and we go on the road next week knowing exactly what job needs to be done when we get to Fylde.”

Referee: Peter Connor

Attendance: 417

Yellow Card: Minogue (Titans)

Titans: Field (2T), Bustin (2T), Newborn (T), Laxton (T), Hayes (T), Williams (T), Poole (T), Minogue (7C)

Blaydon: Charlton (T), Dowell (1C)

Titans: 15 Matt Minogue, 14 Connor Field, 13 Lloyd Hayes (Taylor 55), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Sam Boxhall (West 47), 1 Charlie Capps (Quigley 59), 2 Harry Newborn (Bergmanas 47), 3 Colin Quigley (Donkor 40), 4 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 5 Matt Smith (Newborn 56), 6 Zak Poole (Capt), 7 Keifer Laxton (Williams 40), 8 Callum Bustin (Laxton 55).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Alastair Donkor, 18 Matti Williams, 19 Lewis Taylor, 20 Jonny West.

Blaydon: 15 Jack Appleton (Horsfall 40), 14 James Cooney, 13 Dan Marshall (Capt.) (Mongan 57), 12 Alex Clark, 11 Jonny Ashman, 10 Jonny Dowell, 9 John Clarkson, 1 Alex Dodds (Winter 47), 2 Danny Gray (Chaplin 63), 3 Drew Thompson, 4 Liam Wright, 5 Alex Charlton, 6 Will Varley, 7 Ethan Hall-Lyon, 8 Ethan Clarke (Harrison 40).

Replacements: 16 Owen Chaplin, 17 Matthew Winter, 18 Sweed Harrison, 19 Nathan Horsfall, 20 Hugh Mongan.

Photo Credit: Steve Mettam

Bournville 17 Titans 17

Rotherham Titans were denied victory with a 95 metre interception try by centre Reikiti Maasi with 4 minutes remaining, which ensured this pulsating Nat 2 North contest finished tied at 17-17.

Titans had plenty of opportunities to keep their winning run going, but unfortunately for them weren’t able to take them on the day.

However, the South Yorkshire side can take some solace in maintaining their unbeaten status and keeping themselves involved in a tightly fought contest for promotion.

The game itself saw Roth get off to the worst possible start as Bournville winger Tom Burrows dotted down for a converted try after just 26 seconds, following a miss tackle and then a chip over the top which caught the visitors cold.

Shell-shocked Titans took a little bit of time to grow into the game, but this they did as they started to go through the gears.

On 11 minutes the scores were level when Keifer Laxton scored from the tail of a maul following a line out close to the line and Matt Minogue impressed with the extras.

Roth continued to have the lion’s share of both possession and territory; however, a combination of handling errors from them and tenacious defending from the host ensured the scores remained level until first half injury time, when Minogue tagged over a 3-pointer to send his side in for the oranges 10-7 to the good.

Nine minutes into the second period Titans extended their advantage when Theo Nwosu-Hope barged his way over the line following a catch and drive from a line out. Crucially, Minogue nailed the conversion from out wide.

At this point most in the ground would have expected Rotherham to go on and secure a bonus point win and to be fair there were plenty of opportunities created by them for that to have happened. However, Bournville defended for their lives and somehow managed to keep their line intact.

Four minutes from time as Roth pressed looking for their third try, a pass close to the line was picked off by centre Reikiti Maasi who proceeded to gallop 95 metres downfield to score under the posts. Mitch McGahan had the formality of converting from in front to level the scores.

There was still time enough left for Roth to manoeuvre themselves downfield to find a winning score, but typical of what had gone before they were unable to find their touch on what turned out to be a disappointing day for them.

Speaking on the field just after the full time whistle, Adam Byron said:

“We are frustrated; it’s not a nice place to be when you can see the boys putting absolutely everything in and really putting their bodies on the line and then to not quite get over the line at the end.

“We just need to be a little bit more composed, a bit more clinical and just have the understanding that if we are a bit more patient when we have the ball teams won’t be able to cope with us; but as I’ve said the effort from the lads was outstanding.

“It never ideal going behind after 26 seconds as that put you on the back foot immediately, but once we got to 17-7 we really should have built on that.

“It wasn’t great that on one occasion when we kicked for the corner it was kept in with a player off the field and then we had couple of drives close to the line where we would normally score and we just didn’t quite convert that pressure today.

“Then by not building on our score we allowed them back into the game, firstly with a 3-pointer and then at the end when we were on their line and they get an interception and go the full length of the field.

“These things can happen, but we need to make sure we have the cushion so if that happens it doesn’t affect the final result.”

Referee: James O’Brien

Attendance: 350

Yellow Card: Capps (Titans)

Titans: Laxton (T), Nwosu-Hope (T), Minogue (2C, P)

Bournville: Burrows (T), Maasi (T), McGahan (2C, P)

Titans: 15 Joe Carlisle, 14 George Tucker, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Matt Minogue, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Harry Newborn (Bergmanas 75), 3 Rikki Stout (Quigley 70), 4 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Harry Williams (Matti Williams 45) (Donkor 67), 7 Keifer Laxton, 8 Zak Poole (Capt).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Colin Quigley, 18 Alastair Donkor, 19 Matti Williams, 20 Oliver Fisher.

Bournville: 15 Owen Williams, 14 Tom Burrows, 13 Reikiti Maasi, 12 Max Craven, 11 Ethan Walker (Ho 51), 10 Mitch McGahan, 9 Rhys Harrhy, 1 James Burgoyne (McArthur 36) (Burgoyne 70), 2 James Weaver (Rudge 67), 3 Ryan Smeilus, 4 Fynlay Brown, 5 Tom Holliday (Roach 40), 6 Ashley Scriven, 7 Sam Montieri, 8 Callum Thompson.

Replacements: 16 Scott Rudge, 17 Archie McArthur, 18 William Roach, 19 Mark Coulson, 20 Michael Ho.

Photo Credit: Andrew McCumiskey

Titans 13 Sedgley Park 12

Rotherham Titans secured the narrowest of victories against second place side Sedgley Park as they ran out 13-12 winners in a very tense and edgy affair, on a cold and wet afternoon at Clifton lane.

In a tale of two halves Titans dominated the first 40 and went in at the break 13-0 up, but the visitors from the North West had the better of things in the second half.

Indeed, had Sedgley Park fly half Steve Collins managed to nail his conversion with the final kick of the game, he would have inflicted the first defeat of the season on the South Yorkshire side.

However, that was not meant to be and Rotherham remain unbeaten after 13 games and move up into second spot in the league, five points behind Hull, but with 2 games in hand.

The game itself, as expected, was an intensely-fought contest, with neither side giving quarter easily. Indeed the home side had to defend ferociously in the opening exchanges as the visitors laid siege deep inside their 22.

However, having successfully repelled Sedgley’s early onslaught Roth took hold of the game and enjoyed much of what was to follow in the half.

Roth’s first score didn’t arrive until the end of the first quarter, but it was one worth waiting for.

From halfway fly half Matt Minogue put in a lovely chip over the top for skipper Zak Poole to collect and make good ground into the 22, before he found Matt Challinor in support, who in turn shipped on to hooker Harry Newborn who jinked back inside the last defender to dot down under the sticks for a brilliant try. Minogue added the extras.

The second quarter saw Titans pretty much dominate all aspects of the match and although Matt Minogue added two penalties to give Roth a 13-0 advantage, the home side would have felt they should returned a higher points tally for their superiority.

Indeed the second half was a different affair altogether as Sedgley Park found some momentum and enjoyed some long periods of possession.

On 42 minutes Sedgley hooker Matt Gallagher finished off nicely next to the sticks following a good line break and fly half Steve Collins tagged over the extras to reduce Park’s arrears.

Titans did have their moments in the second half and opportunities arose to extend their advantage. Unfortunately for them a lost line-out on the Sedgley line and a kick to the corner which didn’t find touch were just two occasions Roth let slip, all of which left them with a nervy finish to try and navigate.

In the tenth minute of injury time and with the final play of the game Sedgley set up a driving maul and despite some heroic defending by the home side, hooker Matt Gallagher managed to squeeze over for a try to make it 13-12.

Up stepped Steve Collins to take the conversion from about 15 metres infield. Unfortunately for him and Sedgley, the ball just missed the right upright to leave him and his side devastated and give Roth the victory.

Both sides will feel they deserved the win and both sides can take pride in how they went about their business.

Speaking immediately after the game Titans’ Adam Byron said:

“I was pleased that we got over the line. I couldn’t have been happier with how the first half went, I thought we controlled the game really well and our game management was spot on in the first 40.

“That dropped off a little bit in the second half and I think we have to put our hands up and say we didn’t control the game as well in the second period.

“We let what is a very good side back into the match and we used our get out of jail free card right at the end with the missed conversion; but we’ll take the win all day long.

“The boys deserve a huge amount of credit for the shift they put in; our defensive effort was outstanding. We spoke beforehand about being willing to put bodies on the line and showing a big heart; and to a man that’s what they did.

“Another pleasing thing is Sedgley are one of the most organised attacking sides in the division and they only had two line breaks in the whole of the game. The lads kept their spacing’s really well and that paid dividends in the end.

“With all due respect to some other teams we have played, we have gone into those games looking to get 5 points. Today was a big game for us against one of the best sides in the division and one of our closest rivals and the aim was simply to try and get the win!

“So we are delighted we got that and also delighted that we have notched up another win against one of the top sides.

“That’s 13 games undefeated now and that requires a lot of effort from the boys, it means they have to be switched on every week; it’s a very good standard in this league and so to be still unbeaten at this stage means we have to give the boys a massive pat on the back.”

Referee: Tim Allatt

Attendance: 411

Yellow Card: Birtwell (Sedgley Park), Challinor (Titans)

Titans: Newborn (T). Minogue (2P, 1C)

Sedgley Park: Gallagher (2T), Collins (1C)

Titans: 15 George Tucker, 14 Connor Field, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Tom Lewis, 10 Matt Minogue, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 74), 2 Harry Newborn (Bergmanas 59), 3 Rikki Stout (Quigley 63), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Harry Williams (M. Williams 51), 7 Keifer Laxton, 8 Zak Poole (Capt).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Colin Quigley, 18 Alastair Donkor, 19 Matti Williams, 20 Jonny West.

Sedgley Park: 15 Andy Riley, 14 Rhys Henderson, 13 Oliver Glasse, 12 Matt Riley (Capt.), 11 Jamie Harrison, 10 Steve Collins, 9 Danny Openshaw, 1 John Blanchard, 2 Matt Gallagher, 3 Ben Black, 4 Bob Birtwell, 5 Connor James (E. Crowe 63), 6 Mark Goodman, 7 Will Lees, 8 Tom Ailes (O. Crowe 34). 

Replacements: 16 Beltus Nonleh, 17 Cash Chilvers, 18 Oscar Crowe, 19 Cam Crampton, 20 Elliot Crowe.

Photo Credit: Rotherham Advertiser