Fylde 30 Titans 23

Rotherham Titans put in a tremendous shift away at league leaders Fylde, before eventually coming up agonisingly short in a 30-23 defeat on a wet afternoon in the North West.

Titans crossed the whitewash twice through Charlie Capps and Callum Bustin, with Lloyd Hayes adding 13 points from the tee.

For Rotherham to be so disappointed at not getting what would have arguably been a deserved win, shows just how well they competed, particularly in the second half where most of the action took place in the Fylde half.

Additionally, had Titans not made a couple of late errors, alongside some unfortunate on-field calls which went against them, the South Yorkshire side could well have been celebrating at the end.

Equally and to be fair to Fylde, their first half attacking display coupled with their second half resilience in defence could also be argued they too deserved the spoils.

The game itself was played for large parts in a depressing drizzle, but the hosts brightened up the afternoon with at times some scintillating rugby from their backline; whilst Roth too played some decent rugby and once again showed their prowess up front.

Indeed it was Roth who scored first through a Lloyd Hayes penalty, before Fylde centre Sam Stott barged his way over for the first try, showing great strength on route. Greg Smith converted.

Roth narrowed the gap when Hayes added a second penalty soon after, but on 18 minutes Fylde full back Jordan Dorrington finished off a really nice backs move to dot down for an unconverted try.

Undeterred, Roth remained calm in their approach and worked the ball downfield, before loosehead prop Charlie Capps picked up from the base and dotted down to finish off an excellent period from the Rotherham pack. Lloyd Hayes tagged on the extras to give Roth a 13-12 lead.

Smith and Hayes then traded penalties before on the stroke of half time Titans Jack Taylor was yellow carded for being offside.

In the moments that followed Roth switched-off for a moment and Fylde took a quick-tap and fed the ball to Jordan Dorrington who darted over in the corner. Smith missed the conversion and the sides went in for the oranges with Fylde holding a 20-16 lead.

Misfortune for Rotherham led to the next score which came for Fylde on 54 minutes.

Firstly from a ruck the ball was spat out and fell kindly for the hosts who chipped on downfield. The ball then bounced awkwardly as Roth tried to gather; from there Fylde gathered and Connor Wilkinson went over for a converted try.

From this point on in the game it was pretty much all Rotherham and they enjoyed lots of territory and possession.

Just before the hour mark a powerful driving maul from Roth clattered the hosts backwards at pace for what appeared to be a nice try for the forwards. Unfortunately for them the referee deemed a technical infringement had occurred and the try wasn’t awarded.

Roth then set-up another opportunity with a 5-metre line out, but the throw was adjudged to not have been straight.

Finally Roth did get over for a try when another powerful driving maul went over from around 10 metres; Callum Bustin broke off just before the line to score. Hayes converted nicely to reduce the arrears to 27-23.

Close to the final whistle Smith added his second penalty for the hosts; however, as Roth tried to snatch a late draw they turned over possession inside the Fylde 22 and the ball was hurriedly kicked-off the field to end a pulsating contest.

Speaking after the game Titans head coach, Gary Pearce said:

“We can’t fault the lads for effort, they were absolutely tremendous and as we know it’s always a difficult place to come and play.

“I thought in the second half we were completely all over them and for whatever reason we seemed to fall foul on a few decisions.

“It was puzzling at times because we were so dominant in certain areas, but I am so proud of the lads because they have absolutely given everything and that’s all we can ask.

“Yes we can be better, we lost two or three line outs from 5 metres and that didn’t help, but at the end of the day the boys were outstanding.

“We are so frustrated though, we should have at least drawn the game and maybe even won it.

“At the end they took Gaz Denman off the ball under the sticks and it’s difficult to understand how no one sees that and that’s another opportunity to score that was denied us.

“However, we can take some positives and the lads deserve a lot of credit. Let’s face it, we’ve come to a side that’s top of the league and hoping to go into National 1 and we’ve come here and outplayed them.”

Referee: Llyr Ap Geraint-Roberts

Attendance: 525

Yellow Card: Taylor (Titans)

Titans: Capps (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (3P, 2C)

Fylde: Dorrington (2T), Stott (T), Wilkinson (T), Smith (2P, 2C)

Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 14 Jack Taylor (Tucker 70), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Callum Bustin, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue, 10 Connor Dever, 9 Sam Boxhall (Ramrattan 70), 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 48), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 28) (Capps 66), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Lewis Allan (Cambier 72), 6 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 7 Marcus Payne, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).  

Replacements: 16 Tom Richardson, 17 Danny Rylance, 18 Cade Cambier, 19 Kai Ramrattan, 20 George Tucker.

Fylde: 15 Jordan Dorrington, 14 Adam Lanigan, 13 Connor Wilkinson, 12 Sam Stott, 11 Tom Grimes (Rawlings 40), 10 Greg Smith, 9 Cole Potts, 1 Zach Barrow (Bell 50), 2 Ben Gregory (Capt.), 3 Corey Bowker (Higgins 66), 4 Olli Parkinson, 5 Matt Garrod (Corrie 33), 6 Toby Harrison (Garrod 72), 7 Henry Higginson, 8 David Fairbrother.

Replacements: 16 Patreece Bell, 17 Joe Higgins, 18 Harlan Corrie, 19 Ben Turner, 20 Scott Rawlings.

Tynedale 24 Titans 10

Rotherham Titans suffered a disappointing 24-10 defeat to Tynedale on a bitterly cold and blustery afternoon at Station Road.

The hosts played the conditions much the better and arguably won the game in the first half, when playing into a fierce wind they went in at half time trailing by just 3 points.

Titans only try of the game came from scrum half Sam Boxhall, with Lloyd Hayes adding 5 points from the tee.

The hosts took the lead on 14 minutes when a miss tackle in midfield resulted in Tynedale centre Will Miller dotting down under the sticks for fly half Jake Rodgers to convert.

Roth quickly put that disappointment behind them when two minutes later Lloyd Hayes broke through from 25 metres before popping a nice inside pass to Sam Boxhall to dive over close to the posts. Hayes converted to level matters.

With the conditions as they were and with a fierce wind at their backs, it was important Roth built a score to defend for the second half.

Unfortunately for them and despite making a number of breaks they were only able to add a solitary Lloyd Hayes penalty at the end of the half.

As expected, the second period saw the hosts make full use of the conditions as they pinned Roth back inside their own half for most of it and despite some resilient defending, the pressure inevitably told when lock forward Chris Wearmouth dove over from a pick-and-go for a converted try.

Ten minutes from time a Jake Rodgers penalty crucially gave Tynedale a 7 point lead which looked certain to at least guarantee them a draw.

To their credit Rotherham never stopped trying to save the game and they engineered multiple phases at the end as they tried to do so.

Unfortunately for them in the final play of the match a fumbled ball was hacked on from Jake Rodgers in his own half, before he won the foot race to score under the posts and then dust himself down to convert his try to give Tynedale a deserved win.

Speaking after the game Titans head coach, Gary Pearce, said:

“It was a game of two halves with the strong wind; we didn’t use it well and we probably tried to overplay in the first half. We didn’t capitalise on our breaks; we made 5 or 6 clean breaks but we didn’t end up with points from them.

“They played the conditions better than we did and they were a bit more patient than we were; but the lads played with bags of effort and commitment.

“Right up until the death it was a one score game before on the whistle they get the breakaway try under the posts and all credit to them for that.

“But we are only at the beginning of the journey and we have to be positive; we have to roll up our sleeves and work harder and to be a bit smarter and that’s hopefully what we’ll be.”

Referee: Michael Harris

Attendance: 325

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Boxhall (T), Hayes (C, P)

Tynedale: Miller (T), Wearmouth (T), Rodgers (T, 3C, P)

Titans: 15 Jack Taylor (Bustin 77), 14 Jack Hedley (Ollivent 40), 13 Sam Veall, 12 Lloyd Hayes, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue, 10 Connor Dever, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 59), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 35) (Capps 71), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Lewis Allan (Payne 59), 6 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 7 Callum Bustin (Cambier 71), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).  

Replacements: 16 Harry Newborn, 17 Danny Rylance, 18 Cade Cambier, 19 Marcus Payne, 20 Corben Ollivent

Tynedale: 15 Rob Parker, 14 Seamus Hutton (Cooke 71), 13 Joe Lilley, 12 Will Miller, 11 Alex Dryden, 10 Jake Rodgers, 9 James Blackett, 1 Angus White (Batey 54) (White67), 2 Louis Frankland (Johnston 77), 3 Oscar Caudle, 4 Chris Wearmouth (Capt.), 5 Graeme Dunn (Nankivell 44), 6 Ben Bell, 7 Jonny Dodd, 8 Ben Blackburn (Cousin 40).  

Replacements: 16 Ralph Johnston, 17 David Batey, 18 Jonny Cousin, 19 Ross Cooke, 20 Will Nankivell.

Blaydon 19 Titans 47

Rotherham Titans got back to winning ways with a convincing 47-19 victory over an energetic Blaydon side on a bright afternoon at Crow Trees.

The South Yorkshire outfit ran in 7 tries to 3 with Jack Hedley scoring a hat trick, Sam Boxhall bagging a brace and one each for Jack Taylor and Callum Bustin. Lloyd Hayes added 12 points from the tee with 6 successful conversions.

The scoreline however masks the fact Blaydon were a very competitive outfit that made Rotherham work hard for everything they got.

Indeed after just 11 minutes Titans trailed 12-0 following two nice tries from Blaydon’s scrum half John Clarkson, who also converted his first dot down.

At this point the game had a Déjà vu feel to it, as in the corresponding fixture last term Titans trailed 17-0 after 17 minutes.

However, Rotherham began to settle into the game and they started to establish some sort of control in proceedings.

This in turn led to their first try on 25 minutes when following a period of forward dominance the ball arrived with Lloyd Hayes who offloaded to Connor Dever for him to quickly send in winger Jack Hedley in the corner.

Five minutes later and Hedley had his second score after a terrific break from Zak Poole took play inside the 22; from there the ball came out to Corban Ollivent who found Dever in the backfield, he threw a glorious miss-pass to Hedley who cut back inside to touch down.

As half time approached Roth added a third score when a lovely cross-field kick from Sam Veall was collected by Jack Taylor, from out wide on the left wing he proceeded to glide through for a nice try. Hayes narrowly missed his only conversion of the game and the sides went in with Roth 19-12 to the good.

Within 3 minutes of the restart Titans secured the bonus point.

Matt Challinor started things off with a powerful break in midfield before finding Sam Boxhall; he in turn fed Sam Veall who made a skilful offload as he was going to ground under pressure to Jack Hedley; the speedy winger wasted no time in racing through for his hat-trick.

However, if Roth had thought Blaydon were about to roll over and allow them to dictate, they would have been mistaken, as just 3 minutes later the home side had their third score when replacement back, Zac Thompson charged through close to the posts.

Despite Blaydon’s refusal to give up two tries from Roth’s scrum half Sam Boxhall effectively wrapped up the contest.

His first came after good work from Corban Ollivent down the right hand side, whilst his second was a more individual effort that saw him intercept a pass on his own line, before racing 95 metres downfield to dot down.

Then just before the end of what had been a good display of rugby from both teams, Titans Callum Bustin put the icing on the cake when he ran in following a dominant scrum from the visitors.

Speaking after the game, Titans forwards coach, Matt Smith, said:

“We’ve just had a month away from rugby and our last game against Preston was very disappointing, but today was far better. To get five points away from home on the back of a long trip is very pleasing and it’s just nice to get that winning feeling again.

“I thought the lads did some really good stuff today and to put 47 points on a team means you have to do a lot of things right.

“We are building, we are starting something new and we are trying to get that accountability in there because that was a big thing that was missing and I’m really happy for the boys.

“I was delighted with how the scrum went and that allowed us to get a foothold in the game and obviously control the territory.

“I thought when we did open up and when we got into our attack that we played some good stuff and with Connor Dever coming in at 10 that probably helped, as that freed us up a bit and allowed us to attack them and as a result we scored some great tries.”

Referee: Dave Charlton

Attendance: 225

Yellow Card: Bailey (Tynedale)

Titans: Hedley (3T), Boxhall (2T), Taylor (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (6C)

Blaydon: Clarkson (2T, C), Thompson (T, C)

Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Jack Taylor, 12 Lloyd Hayes, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue (Ollivent 18) (Sableman-Blue 69), 10 Connor Dever, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 61), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Newborn 45) (Bergmanas 69), 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 31), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Lewis Allan (Bustin 72), 6 Theo Nwosu-Hope (Cambier 72), 7 Rupert Kay, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).  

Replacements: 16 Harry Newborn, 17 Danny Rylance, 18 Callum Bustin, 19 Cade Cambier, 20 Corben Ollivent.

Blaydon: 15 Nathan Bailey, 14 Jonny Ashman, 13 James Cooney, 12 Ewan Greenlaw, 11 Jack Appleton (Thompson 29), 10 Dan Marshall (Capt.), 9 John Clarkson (Douglas 45), 1 Ralph Appleby, 2 Charlie Smith (Sanderson 67), 3 Alex Dodds (Siddle 50), 4 Darren Barry, 5 Austin Phillips, 6 Liam Wright, 7 Cameron Roy (Turnbull 65), 8 Ethan Hall-Lyon (Roy 72).

Replacements: 16 Matt Siddle, 17 Dan Sanderson, 18 Adam Turnbull, 19 Ben Douglas, 20 Zac Thompson.