Titans 42 Tynedale 7

Rotherham Titans put in an impressive overall performance to beat a spirited Tynedale side 42-7 on a bright afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored their North East opponents by six tries to one with dot downs from Luke Cole, Loma Kivalu, Zak Poole, Harry Dunne, Tomasi Tanumi and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 12 points from a perfect afternoon with the boot.

In an entertaining game where 49 points were scored, only 7 were scored in the first half!

Despite Rotherham totally dominating territory and possession and spending long periods inside the Tynedale 22, they found it difficult to cross the whitewash; this was in no small part due to the tenacity shown by the visiting defence.

Indeed it took until the 39th minute before the deadlock was broken by hooker Luke Cole who received the ball five metres out and proceeded to barge his way over close to the posts. Lloyd Hayes knocked over the extras, as he did all game.

Following the half time oranges there was no long wait for the next score as inside 2 minutes Rotherham were on the board again.

Following good work down the right hand side from Tomasi Tanumi the ball was fed back infield and arrived with Loma Kivalu who showed great strength to bulldoze his way over.

The cork was now out of the bottle and five minutes later Roth had their third score when a quick-tap from Lloyd Hayes was fed to skipper Zak Poole for him to dot down.

The bonus point and effectively match winning score was collected on 53 minutes and fittingly it came from centre Harry Dunne on his 100th appearance for the club. Following good work from winger Jack Taylor the ball was eventually fed out by Will Metcalfe to Dunne who showed great desire to crash over in the corner.

Before the hour mark Lloyd Hayes got in on the act when Tynedale fumbled the ball around halfway and Jack Townend hacked on, as the chase entered the try zone the ball bobbled up nicely for Hayes to dot down.

Credit to Tynedale however as they fought back with good endeavour and when prop forward Mike Hughes crashed over following a series of pick-and-goes, it was fully deserved for the teams efforts all afternoon.

Rotherham had the final word though when a catch and drive was finished off unexpectedly by winger Tomasi Tanumi to put the cherry on top of a fine performance.

There’s no match next week, so Rotherham will look to prepare well for their next test which sees them travel to top side Fylde.

Speaking after the game Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“At half time we described it as slow poison, because we knew the pressure we put on them in the first half would tell in the second and you have to give Tynedale a lot of credit for the defensive efforts they put in.

“The change we wanted in the second half was to be more accurate with the pressure and then we knew we would get our scores.

“Coming out at the start of the second half with the speed of ball and the physicality that we showed was the reason we scored 35 points in the half.

“We’ve spoken about the game and where we can control the pitch; we can get territory and possession and then we can go to work and that’s working and we need to try and maintain that.

“In the time I’ve been here that’s the best defensive effort I’ve seen from Rotherham. We are making great strides in that department; if we were to highlight an area where we’ve made a real improvement, I think we saw that today with our defence.

“We need to give a mention to Harry Dunne; what an achievement to play 100 games for the club, that’s impressive. Then to round it off with a score where he had to work for it was very pleasing and we congratulate him for that”

Referee: Sam Yates

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Wearmouth, Haigh & White (Tynedale)

Titans: Cole (T), Kivalu (T), Poole (T), Dunne (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (T, 6C)

Tynedale: Hughes (T), Parker (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne (JB Bruzulier 56), 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner (Dunne 57), 9 Will Metcalfe, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 35), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 56), 3 Gareth Denman (Capps 57), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith (Allan 67), 25 Harry Newborn, 7 Rupert Kay (Payne 40), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Lewis Allan, 6 Marcus Payne, 20 JB Bruzulier. 

Tynedale: 15 Joe Beaty, 14 Alex Dryden (Nankivell 22) (Rewcastle 31), 23 Euan Forlow, 12 Will Milner (Scott 67), 11 Seamus Hutton (Hughes 52) (Hutton 62), 10 Rob Parker, 9 James Telford (Capt.), 21 Mike Hughes (White 29), 2 Ralph Johnston, 3 Micky Rewcastle (Dryden 25), 4 Chris Wearmouth, 5 Graeme Dunn (Nankivell 71), 6 Jonny Cousin, 7 Henry Wainwright, 8 Owen Vassallo (Hanning 40).

Replacements: 1 Angus White, 17 Ben Haigh, 18 Will Nankivell, 16 Joe Hanning, 20 Ryan Scott.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Lymm 22 Titans 36

Rotherham Titans ran out 36-22 winners over a spirited Lymm outfit to maintain their push at the top end of the table on a damp afternoon at Crouchley Lane.

Titans outscored the hosts by 5 tries to 3, with Jack Bergmanas bagging a brace and one each coming for Jack Taylor, Harry Newborn and Callum Bustin; Lloyd Hayes added 11 points from the tee.

The win for Rotherham was tainted by what looked like a serious leg injury to second rower Matt Challinor inside the opening 10 minutes and the best wishes of everyone at Clifton Lane go out to him.

The match itself saw Titans dominate for large periods, with once again the pack laying a strong foundation, particularly so with regards to the scrum and maul.

However when Titans opened the scoring after 3 minutes it came through the backs. Lloyd Hayes made a nice break after some smart footwork saw him dart back inside; he then took play up to the 5 metre line before sending in Jack Taylor on the wing. Hayes converted nicely from out wide.

From the restart Lymm responded immediately to level matters when Paddy Jennings finished off some slick handling and Tom Shard converted.

Moments later Rotherham’s Matt Challinor suffered a terrible lower leg injury and the game was held up for 20 minutes whilst the medics, led by Titans David Swift and Chris Myers, treated Matt’s injury.

From the restart Rotherham went back in front when Jack Bergmanas dotted down from the tail of a driving maul.

Shard narrowed the gap with a penalty before Bergmanas grabbed his second try of the match with another dot down from the maul.

Before the half hour mark Rotherham secured the bonus point when flanker Harry Newborn grabbed his first try on his second appearance of the season. This came from a catch and drive close to the line.

Just before the break Titans extended the lead to 29-10 when Hayes knocked over a penalty.

Following the half time oranges Rotherham resumed their dominance and on 50 minutes put the game to bed when back rower Callum Bustin scored from a catch and drive. Hayes conversion made it 36-10.

To be fair Lymm they never stopped giving it a go and two tries late in the game from Andy Williams and Stephen Pilkington was fair reward for their efforts.

Rotherham will now dust themselves down, count up the injuries and switch focus to the next challenge which will come away to Huddersfield next Saturday.

Following the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“A five point win away from home - I’m very happy.

“In parts of the game I was really impressed with what our team was doing, with the way they controlled the pitch and territory and don’t underestimate those long defensive sets that we had to put in today, because Lymm were a team that kept on playing and playing and we had to stick with it.

“So I was really delighted with our defensive performance, even though we let in three scores.

“We’ve got to make mention about the adversity though the game. We lost one of our big players in Matt Challinor, after just 7 minutes and the team had to adapt and there was problem solving out there.

“When you lose somebody like Chall you might have some doubts about your maul functioning, but the maul functioned today.

“I think the backs in difficult conditions when they had the opportunities took them.

“We probably missed three opportunities from our set piece to score; we got held up twice and we were defending for our lives when we went down to 13 players at the end.

“To not allow them a bonus point at home and to look at our missed opportunities just shows how much more is still to come from this team.”

Referee: Jack Moorhouse

Attendance: 189

Yellow Card: Tanumi, Milner, Newborn (Titans), Beesley (Lymm)

Titans: Bergmanas (2T), Taylor (T), Newborn (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (4C, 1P)

Lymm: Jennings (T), Williams (T), Pilkington (T), Shard (2C, 1P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tainne Finn, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 22), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 51), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 59), 4 Matt Challinor (Bustin 8), 19 John Okafor, 7 Lewis Allan (Kay 55), 25 Harry Newborn, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.). 

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Rupert Kay, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Lymm: 15 Jack Reynolds (Beesley 63), 14 Nathan Beesley (Williams 59), 13 Stephen Pilkington, 12 James Kimber, 11 Paddy Jennings, 10 Tom Shard, 9 Cal Morris, 16 Gav Woods (Higgins 51), 2 James Pitcher (Makin 40), 17 Matty Hand (Widdrington 40) (Hand 58), 4 James Yates (Capt.), 5 Ben Thompson, 6 Joe Johnson, 7 Harry Martin, 8 Rhys Lilly (Higginson 53).

Replacements: 1 Joe Higgins, 24 Jordan Widdrington, 18 Rob Makin, 19 Oli Higginson, 20 Andy Williams.

Titans 35 Sheffield Tigers 17

Rotherham Titans ran out worthy 35-17 winners in a full-bloodied South Yorkshire derby on a bright, but cool afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Rotherham outscored the visitors by 5 tries to 2, with their dot downs coming from Charlie Capps, Luke Cole, John Okafor, Harry Dunne and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 10 points from the tee.

The bonus point win keeps Rotherham in second place and within touch of league leaders Leeds Tykes, with the West Yorkshire side still to visit Clifton Lane later in the season.

The game played out as expected as both sides ripped into each other from the off and although it was a physical contest, it was played in the right spirit.

The competitiveness of the game saw the defences cancel each other out in the opening exchanges and it wasn’t until the 27th minute that the scoreboard was made to work when Titans loosehead prop Charlie Capps picked up from the base to dive over close to the line. Hayes tagged on the extras.

In a low-scoring opening 40 minutes Tigers fly half Will Baker added a penalty to send the teams in at the break with Titans leading 7-3.

All season long Rotherham has demonstrated what a strong second half outfit they are and yet again that quality came to the fore, as after not much more than 10 minutes they crossed the whitewash twice.

First of all hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of the maul following a catch and drive, then back rower John Okafor finished off a nice move which started off with a nice chip over the top from Lloyd Hayes. Hayes then gathered the fumbled ball and found Matt Challinor in support who in turn shipped on to Harry Dunne before he put in Okafor next to the sticks.

Titans were now rampant as they dominated every aspect of the game; this culminated in securing the bonus point on 66 minutes when centre Harry Dunne showed great strength and tenacity to bulldoze his way over.

The match was wrapped up shortly after when Lloyd Hayes scored a lovely individual try. Hayes collected a pass from Will Metcalfe inside his own half and proceeded to gallop downfield through the Tigers defence unchallenged to dot down under the posts. His conversion made it 35-3.

With the game settled Rotherham can be forgiven for their late lapse in concentration.

Two minutes from time Tigers second rower Dom Santimaria bundled his way over and in injury time winger James Norman collected a kick over the top from Will Baker to run in under the posts and credit to Tigers for never giving up despite the game being long gone.

The win keeps Rotherham actively involved at the top end of the division and they will now switch focus to the next challenge which comes at Lymm next Saturday.

Speaking after the game Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“To be honest I think that was a comprehensive victory; the team controlled possession, dominated territory and fully deserved the five points. However, you could see 3 weeks of rustiness from the Christmas period because we left tries out there in the first half and in the second half we didn’t capitalise on a few opportunities.

“You have to give credit to Tigers; they didn’t give up and that’s where we need to improve and be better, because although the game was over and we’d won it, we’d like to see an 80 minute performance.

“Harry Newborn came in and was exceptional, particularly when you consider he was playing out of position. Everyone tells me he’s a hooker, but he was outstanding at 7 today. He brought energy, physicality and wherever the ball was Harry was and it’s great to have someone like that to call on who wants to give so much for the shirt.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Hawksworth (Sheffield Tigers)

Titans: Capps (T), Cole (T), Okafor (T), Dunne (T), Hayes (T, 5C)

Sheffield Tigers: Santimaria (T), Norman (T), Baker (2C, P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tainne Finn, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 57), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 44), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 34) (Ward 75), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith (Kay 67), 19 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Cowen-Leak 53), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.). 

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Gareth Denman, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 6 Rupert Kay, 20 Will Metcalfe.  

Sheffield Tigers: 15 Sam Wager, 18 Lewis Taylor, 13 Jamie Broadley, 12 Barney Goatley, 11 James Norman, 10 Will Baker, 9 Ryan Holmes (Capt.) (Talbot 67), 1 Will Bennett, 2 Louis Townsend (Licence 60), 3 Nick Bingham (Clark 67), 4 Dan Hawksworth, 5 Dom Santimaria, 6 Connor Scott (Manderfield 72), 7 Joe Fitzsimons, 8 Josh Redfern.

Replacements: 16 Tom Clark, 17 Patrick Licence, 14 Curtis Wilson, 19 Ben Manderfield, 20 George Talbot.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons