Chinnor 48 Titans 35

Rotherham Titans put in a sterling effort before eventually going down 48-35 to a lively Chinnor side on a surprisingly warm and sunny February afternoon at Kingsey Road.

The hosts outscored the Titans by six tries to four, meaning the South Yorkshire side collected a try-scoring bonus point, leaving them fifth in the table, one place ahead of Chinnor.

The contest, in which Rotherham trailed for much of the match, was still a live affair until the 77th minute. Trailing by just 6 points Titans went in search of a thrilling victory. Unfortunately for them, as they attacked from deep they threw an interception for winger Craig Holland to run in for his hat trick and to seal an entertaining victory for his side.

Indeed it was Holland who opened this high-scoring affair as early as the fourth minute of the match, after Rotherham had kicked away possession and paid the ultimate price.

Two penalties from Alex Dolly and one from Chinnor’s Jonathan Hopkin followed as Titans trailed 10-6 after just 13 minutes.

One of the major positives for the Titans was their work at the scrum and again it proved to be a good source for scoring points. On 22 minutes following good pressure at the set piece, referee Matt Carley was left with no alternative but to award Rotherham a penalty try.

Two minutes later and a rampant Rotherham crossed the whitewash again. This time following a number of phases the ball was spread wide by Joe Barker to Henry Roberts on the left wing; Roberts showed good pace to race in for a fine try. Dolly narrowly missed the conversion from touch to leave Titans 18-10 to the good.

However, a lapse in concentration from Rotherham allowed the hosts to bounce back quickly; full back Kieran Goss and replacement prop Pat Schickerling both crossed in the space of 5 minutes to give the Thame based side a 24-18 lead.

Alex Dolly did narrow the gap to 3 points with a well taken penalty on 34 minutes, but before half time Holland raced in again for Chinnor for his second dot down to send Titans in at the break extremely disappointed to be trailing 31-21.

That disappointment was exacerbated for Rotherham on 48 minutes when second rower Tom Jubb barged his way over for Chinnor’s fifth try.

At this point the Rotherham faithful must have feared a rout; however, the South Yorkshire side showed tremendous character to mount a stern fight back.

On 62 minutes another massive series of scrums saw Titans earn a second penalty try and then following a 3 pointer from Chinnor’s Hopkin, Rotherham hooker Ali Thomson showed good footwork to dance his way through to touch down under the posts. Dolly’s conversion left Titans trailing by just 6 points with 3 minutes plus injury time remaining.

Titans now had a real buzz and energy about their work and they knew a converted try would give them a one point victory. However, in their eagerness to snatch the win they unfortunately threw an interception for Chinnor to seal the match.

Commenting post-game Joe Barker explained, “Chinnor scored some good individual tries which put them away from us at different points in the game, but when we had the ball I think we scored some great team tries and at times we put in some of the best attacking rugby we’ve done all season. There were periods when we tried to force things, but in terms of effort and the type of rugby we displayed I have to be proud of the lads.

“There was some good stuff from us in the first half but more so in the second forty; we’re not going to be scoring individual tries from the full length of the pitch like they did, but as a team we created some great opportunities because the boys grafted so hard.

“It’s tough for any team to come here, but we came here with 10 injuries and people playing out of position and for the lads to put in a shift like that and to put in some of the best attacking rugby that we’ve put together all season was great to see.

“We’ve now just got to build on this as a squad; individually we’ve got to be better in defence, especially in these dry weather conditions. However, I think as a whole, the squad put in the best attacking rugby that Rotherham has seen in a while and that was good to see.”

Referee: Matthew Carley

Attendance: 306

Yellow Card: Gilding (Chinnor)

Titans: Penalty Try (2T), Roberts (T), Thomson (T), Dolly (3P, C)

Chinnor: Holland (3T), Goss (T), Schickerling (T), Jubb (T), Hopkin (2P, 6C)

Titans: 15 Alex Dolly, 14 Dan Leake (Allott 36), 13 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Henry Roberts, 10 Joe Barker, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Dan Richardson, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Thomson 54), 3 Will Dennis, 4 Jamie Ure, 5 Kieran Frost (Preston-Routledge 61), 6 Luis Ball (Frost 65), 7 Tom Cotterill, 8 Zak Poole.

Replacements: 16 Ali Thomson, 17 Antony Dickinson, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Christian Head, 20 Tom Allott. 

Chinnor: 15 Kieran Goss (Betts 70) (Goss 80), 14 Craig Holland, 13 Reon Joseph, 12 Greg King, 11 Josh Hodson (Barnes 32), 10 Jonathan Hopkin, 9 Ed Hoadley (Goodfellow 65), 1 Ben Betts (Southworth 54), 2 Max Norey (George 65), 3 Jack Gilding (Schickerling 22) (Gilding 54), 4 Ben Thomas, 5 Tom Jubb, 6 Ben Manning, 7 George Oliver (Capt.), 8 William Ryan.

Replacements: 16 Pat Schickerling, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Dan George, 19 Grieg Goodfellow, 20 Dan Barnes.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Bayliss

Plymouth Albion 24 Titans 17

Rotherham Titans put in a tremendous effort before eventually going down 24-17 to a determined Plymouth Albion side at Brickfields.

Titans collected a losing bonus point for their endeavours, but ultimately what cost them victory was their indifferent start to a game which saw them trail 14-0 inside the first 20 minutes.

Rotherham pretty much bossed the final 50 minutes of an enthralling contest, but the home side showed great determination in defence to hold out for a crucial win.

Titans overall strength was undoubtedly their scrum, which pretty much dismantled the opposition throughout the match. However, their line-out proved to be their Achilles heel as all too often at critical times in the game it let them down badly.

After tries from Albion backs Jon Dawe and Jack Arnott, both of which were converted by full back Matt Shepherd on 17 minutes, it was always going to be difficult for Rotherham to overcome their deficit. But try they did and they are to be commended for their determined approach and never-say-die attitude.

Titans Alex Dolly and Albion’s Shepherd traded penalties late in the half, before deep into injury time Titans number 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor rounded off a sweeping move to score near the posts. Dolly added the extras to send his side in at the break trailing 17-10.

Rotherham’s aim would have been to score first in the second period; however Albion doubled their advantage to 14 points on 54 minutes when a five metre catch and drive was finished off by ex-Titan hooker Davy McGregor, with Shepherd adding the extras.

Undeterred by the set-back Rotherham continued to power forward and enjoyed large spells of dominance, both in terms of territory and possession.

On 67 minutes Titans reduced their arrears to 7 points when Nagle-Taylor dotted down from the tail of a scrum for Dolly to convert the extras. There was some surprise that Albion didn’t receive a yellow card at this juncture as they conceded numerous penalties, as their set-piece crumbled and disintegrated under huge Titans pressure.

However, the score set up the game nicely for an excitingly tense finish; but as hard they tried Rotherham were just unable to convert their dominance into points. Ironically in the 87th minute Albion received a yellow card for their repeated transgressions, but all too late to make any real significance on the game.

Commenting post-match Titans Joe Barker explained, “Based on the full 80 minutes and if you look at the stats overall I think the better side lost today and as such we are very disappointed with the outcome. However, we weren’t the better team in the first 30 minutes, despite showing glimpse of what we are capable of we trailed 14-0 and ultimately that indifferent start cost us the game.

“You just can’t get into the opponents red zone as often as we did and lose the ball, whether that is at line-outs, at the breakdown or whatever. We dominated for long periods but our errors cost us the win.

“But to be fair to the boys they showed tremendous resilience and character to keep coming back, no matter what happened during the game; a lot of stuff didn’t go our way but the boys were outstanding in their efforts to keep on battling against all the obstacles in their way and I’m proud of them for that.”

Referee: Veryan Boscawen

Attendance: 1100

Yellow Card: Swain (Albion)

Titans: Nagle-Taylor (2T), Dolly (P, 2C)

Plymouth Albion: Dawe (T), Arnott (T), McGregor (T), Shepherd (P, 3C)

Titans: 15 Alex Dolly, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Ellis Abrahams, 12 Joe Barker (Cooke 40), 11 Connor Field, 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Dan Richardson, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Thomson 50), 3 Will Dennis, 4 Jamie Ure (Preston-Routledge 50), 5 Kieran Frost, 6 Luis Ball (Cotterill 56), 7 Zak Poole, 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Ali Thomson, 17 Rikki Stout, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Tom Cotterill, 20 Jamie Cooke.

Plymouth Albion: 15 Matt Shepherd, 14 Josh Skelcey, 13 Jon Dawe (Powell 74), 12 Dean Squire, 11 Jack Arnott, 10 Connor Eastgate, 9 Cameron Setter (Snow 64), 1 James Kenny (Pullinger 67), 2 Ashlee Crouch (McGregor 46), 3 Dan Pullinger (Norton 56), 4 Lewis Pearson, 5 Dan Swain, 6 George Mills, 7 Flynn Elworthy (Tuima 64), 8 Herbie Stupple (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Davy McGregor, 17 Rusi Tuima, 18 Will Norton, 19 Joe Snow, 20 Dan Powell.

Titans 22 Esher 12

Rotherham Titans returned to winning ways with a worthy 22-12 win over an impressive Esher outfit at Clifton Lane.

A disjointed first half performance from Rotherham, in difficult blustery conditions, was quickly forgotten as they put in a powerful second half shift, which saw replacement number 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor score a hat trick of tries.

The bonus-point victory was based on an impressive second half scrum effort from the South Yorkshire side, as the platform it set undoubtedly led them to a deserved victory.

Rotherham started the game in bright fashion and quickly took the lead on 6 minutes when tight head prop and skipper for the day, Rikki Stout, barged his way over from a catch and drive five metres from the line. Callum Irvine hit the post with his conversion attempt from out wide in difficult conditions.

Although Titans continued to have good territory and possession the visitors defended with good intensity and forced the home side into errors in handling.

Eventually Esher made their way into Titans territory and after a number of phases they worked the ball across field for outside centre Dan Rowland to dive over in the corner for an unconverted try. Rotherham would have been disappointed with their defensive efforts for the score.

Esher took confidence from their success and enjoyed the better of the latter stages of the half, although there would be no more points added as the teams went in at the break at 5-5.

The visitors would have come out for the second period full of confidence and with a strong wind now at their backs they would probably have been favourites to win the game.

However, at half time Rotherham made a number of changes to their pack which would eventually make the difference at the end.

Before that though it was Esher who took the lead 8 minutes into the second half when loose head prop Matt Lowes crashed over from the tail of a driving maul. Impressively from the touchline Owen Waters added the extras to extend his side’s advantage to 12-5.

Rotherham then showed good character to force their way back into the game and as their scrum started to demonstrate its dominance the confidence levels grew.

On 56 minutes replacement number 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor collected from the base of a scrum five metres out, before charging his way over for Titans second try. This time Callum Irvine impressed from the tee in the difficult conditions to level the scores.

From here on in the momentum of the game shifted and Titans always looked as though they would go on to grab the win. On 68 minutes Titans re-took the lead from a five metre line-out which saw Nagle-Taylor touch down from the tail.

Then three minutes from time the impressive Nagle-Taylor was on hand again. This time from a scrum close to the line Connor Dever popped an inside pass to the number 8 for his hat-trick and to secure the bonus point win.

Commenting post-match Joe Barker explained, “We did struggle in some areas in the first half, but what we did do in that period was tire them in the way we played and we did actually play some good rugby too. At times it maybe didn’t come off, but we knew we had it in us and we defended really well.

“In the second half we showed that when it does all click we can get over the line and we scored four tries to get the bonus point win.

“After the last couple of weeks and the disappointment of those results, to get a five point win at home is really pleasing. The lads have been putting it in hard in training and we’ve been very honest with ourselves within the group and everyone has taken ownership for their roles.

“Esher had a big pack, but we managed to move them around and that had an effect in the second half. The ball was in-play a lot today and that too had an effect.

“We had a positive influence from the bench and Seb made a huge impact when we brought him on in the second half. Obviously he’s very powerful off the back of the scrum and massive credit to the front five for setting the platform for Seb to do what he did.

“So we’re delighted to get the win, but we must now quickly switch our focus on to Plymouth. They are a much-improved side from when we played them earlier in the season; it will be a tough game of rugby, but one we are capable of winning if we get everything right.”

Referee: Harry Walbaum

Attendance: 534

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Nagle-Taylor (3T), Stout (T), Irvine (1C)

Esher: Rowland (T), Lowes (T), O Waters (1C)

Titans: 15 Sam Allan, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Harry Dunne (Dolly 69), 12 Joe Barker, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Dan Richardson, 2 Ali Thomson (Bergmanas 40), 3 Rikki Stout (Capt.) (Dennis 56), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge (Ure 40), 5 Kieran Frost, 6 Luis Ball, 7 Tom Cotterill (Poole 58), 8 Zak Poole (Nagle-Taylor 40).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Jamie Ure, 19 Seb Nagle-Taylor, 20 Alex Dolly.

Esher Rugby: 15 Callum Monks, 14 Joe Beckett, 13 Dan Rowland, 12 Tom Cheeseman (Fluker 38), 11 Tom James (Irving 29), 10 Owen Waters (Cheeseman 57), 9 Jack Walsh, 1 Matt Lowes (Mines 46) (Zeiss 69), 2 Rhodri Tanner (Hope 46) (Tanner 69), 3 Cameron Zeiss (Lowes 55), 4 Andy Hore, 5 Devin Montgomery, 6 Cameron Gentles, 7 Charlie Gossington (Capt.), 8 Robert Dudley-Jones (Moore-Aiono 54).

Replacements: 16 Devlin Hope, 17 Oliver Mines, 18 Izzy Moore-Aiono, 19 Kariym Irving, 20 Andrew Fluker.