Otley 13 Titans 34

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their bonus point 34-13 win over a tenacious Otley side on a bright afternoon at Cross Green.

Titans outscored the West Yorkshire outfit by five tries to one, with scores coming from Will Milner, Callum Bustin, Harry Newborn, Will Metcalfe and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 9 points from the tee.

On an energy-draining, heavy pitch, Rotherham deserved their eighth victory on the spin and eighteenth of the season, which leaves them in second place in the division.

That’s not to say Otley didn’t play their part in this bruising battle and you could argue the final score flattered Rotherham somewhat; nevertheless the better team on the day came away with the spoils.

Indeed it was the South Yorkshire side that got the scoreboard moving first when on 6 minutes fly half Will Milner showed good strength to power over following a pass from JB Bruzulier, after good work in the build up from the Titans pack.

Lloyd Hayes narrowly missed the extras, but he and the Otley full back Joe Rowntree then traded penalties either side of the half hour mark.

Titans at this point were enjoying the better of the exchanges and increased their advantage when Callum Bustin powered over following more effective work from the pack. Hayes tagged over the extras to make it 15-3.

Late on in the half a lapse of concentration from Rotherham saw Otley regain possession and spread the ball quickly across the pitch to allow winger Sam Taylor to score in the corner.

Joe Rowntree impressed with the extras from the touchline and with the last kick of the half he knocked over a penalty to leave the game poised at 15-13.

Fuelled by their late success of the first half Otley came out with a spring in their step and they enjoyed long periods of possession and territory in the Titans half of the field.

Unfortunately for them Rowntree missed a couple of penalty efforts during this spell and they weren’t able to convert any of that pressure into points. Indeed Otley would remain scoreless in the second half.

Just after the hour mark Rotherham made the hosts pay when they grabbed a third try through Harry Newborn, who was on hand to dot down from a pick-and-go close to the line. Hayes’ conversion made it 22-13.

As the game wore on and the clock ticked down it looked as if Rotherham may not secure the bonus point.

However, three minutes from time the ball was moved from the base of a ruck quickly by Will Metcalfe on to Harry Dunne and then to Will Milner who sent in Lloyd Hayes for a fine try.

Deep into injury time Will Metcalfe picked off an interception and galloped in from 40 metres to score in the corner and wrap up the game.

Rotherham would have been relieved to have secured the bonus point win against a tricky side on their own patch; but it was pleasing for them that they found a way to get there in the end.

As always the focus quickly switches to the next game which is another short trip to Huddersfield on Saturday and having been beaten there on the last two visits, Titans will prepare well for another tough challenge.

Speaking after the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“Otley came out and they gave us a big game and there were some crucial moments through the 80 minutes for them.

“We began to control the game in the first 30 minutes, even though the scores weren’t coming, we were 15-3 up and for them to come back in that last 10 minutes meant they had a bit more energy and emotion at the start of the second half.

“I’m proud of our players for sticking to task and I’m proud of our players for adapting during the game to what Otley were doing, which meant the messages at half time came through.

“And then when a team like Otley is not giving anything away it’s not going to just happen for you; for us to come away in the last 15 minutes with those 3 scores, that’s the sign of a team that’s probably getting a little bit more maturity, a little bit more understanding and to come away with five points I’m pretty proud of that.

“We’ve been working hard on our defence; I’m probably a bit greedy and I didn’t want to give that try away, but on the whole I was really pleased with our defensive display.

“I was happy that we once again got on the right side of the referee; I think our penalty count is going in the right direction and that’s important to us.”

Referee: Henry Pearson

Attendance: 339

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Milner (T), Bustin (T), Newborn (T), Metcalfe (T), Hayes (T, 3C, P)

Otley: Taylor (T), Rowntree (C, 2P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Cuchulain Livingstone, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 58), 1 Charlie Capps (Capt.), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 54), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 29) (Denman 54), 4 John Okafor, 5 Lewis Allan (Kivalu 56), 6 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 7 Harry Newborn (Payne 75), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Reece Ward, 19 Marcus Payne, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Otley: 15 Joe Rowntree (Stead 75), 14 Sam Taylor, 13 Gavin Stead (Graham 68), 12 Jacob Holmes, 11 Ben Dinsdale, 10 Eddie Crossland, 9 Rory Gaffney, 1 Tom Baxter (Nichols 24) (Baxter 55) (Moss 68), 2 Ryan Gibson (Mudd 28), 3 Jason Moss (Gibson 61), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge, 5 Chris Jackson (Fontaine 33) (Johnson 61), 6 Ben Waddington (Fontaine 79), 7 Sam Hodge, 8 Adam Malthouse (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Billy Nichols, 17 Leon Mudd, 18 Nick Fontaine, 19 Alex Johnson, 20 Michael Graham.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Titans 32 Sheffield 14

Rotherham Titans put in a determined and physical performance to beat local rivals Sheffield 32-14 on a mild afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Rotherham secured the bonus point and outscored the Abbeydale outfit by 5 tries to 2, with dot downs coming from Callum Bustin, JB Bruzulier, Tomasi Tanumi and a brace from Harry Newborn, with Lloyd Hayes adding 7 points from tee.

In this feisty top-of-the-table clash, second placed Rotherham were made to work hard by third placed Sheffield, particularly so in the opening 10 minutes when the visitors took the lead through the division’s leading try scorer Elliot Fisher who finished off nicely following a break from Ryan Burrows.

However, from that point on Rotherham worked themselves into the contest and slowly took charge of affairs.

The home side levelled matters on 26 minutes when Callum Bustin received a smart pass from Loma Kivalu to break through and score under the posts.

Lloyd Hayes converted and then shortly afterwards nosed Titans ahead with a penalty.

With confidence boosted from their success Rotherham stepped up the intensity to score two more tries before the break.

First up, a powerful driving maul from a line out saw Harry Newborn finish off from the tail and then a quick-thinking JB Bruzulier spotted a gap from the base of a ruck to dive over.

Rotherham should probably have secured the bonus point try before the break; unfortunately for them a lack of accuracy meant this would have to wait.

That wait wasn’t a long one. Inside 2 minutes of the restart the bonus point was bagged when Tomasi Tanumi showed great desire to crash over in the corner following a good break from Jack Townend.

Just after the hour mark the match was closed out as a contest when Rotherham scored their fifth try of the game.

This came from man-of-the-match Harry Newborn, who once again was on hand to dot down from the tail of a powerful maul.

To be fair to Sheffield they never stopped trying and inside the final 10 minutes they picked up a second try through former Titan Ryan Burrows, who showed good awareness to break from a free kick.

Nevertheless, Rotherham comfortably saw out the game to register an important win against a good side and maintain their interest at the top end of the table.

The focus will now switch to the Otley game on Saturday and to making sure the preparations are right for that one.

Speaking after the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“At times today we performed really well; we came through a tricky first 10 minutes where I think we lost our way and then we really asserted our dominance from that point on.

“We were a bit frustrated we didn’t come away with another score just before half time, but straight off the bat in the second half we did well to take advantage to get the bonus point try.

“We’ve got to go away and look at how we manage the game with the yellow card, but then to see out the game out the way we did against an emotionally charged Sheffield team, I think the players did really well.

“We just want to focus on improving each week and that’s what this team is doing. Each week they are putting in better performances and that’s what we need to keep on doing.

“Our defensive sets were outstanding; it’s an area we’ve been working really hard on. I’m happy with the overall performance, we got the five points and we can go away and be proud of that.”

Referee: Jack Moorhouse

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Parsons (Sheffield) Denman (Titans)

Titans: Newborn (2T), Bustin (T), Bruzulier (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (2C, P)

Sheffield: Burrows (T), Fisher (T, 2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Dan Rundle (Kivalu 47) (Rundle 55) (Metcalfe 61), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Rundle 77), 1 Charlie Capps (Capt.), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 47), 3 Loma Kivalu (Denman 30), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith (Allan 61), 24 Marcus Payne (Cowen-Leak 37), 25 Harry Newborn (Payne 77), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 30 Gareth Denman, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 26 Lewis Allan, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Sheffield: 15 Ieuan Cooke, 14 James Flint (Flinders 39) (Flint 47) (Hughes 68), 13 Will Smith, 12 Kaj Douglas, 16 Christian Hooper, 10 Callum Posa (West 67), 9 Elliot Fisher, 1 Ben Whitney, 2 Rhodri Campbell, 22 Jake Hicklin (Rogers 58), 4 Archie Crapper (Flinders 58), 5 Dom Parsons (Capt.), 6 Rob Fawdry, 7 Jason Hignell (Adcock 55), 8 Ryan Burrows.

Replacements: 3 George Rogers, 24 Angus Hughes, 23 Charlie Flinders, 21 Matt Adcock, 20 Jonny West.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Fylde 27 Titans 32

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding display to beat a talented Fylde outfit 32-27 on a bright afternoon at The Woodlands.

Titans outscored their hosts by 4 tries to 3 with Charlie Capps, John Okafor, JB Bruzulier and Luke Cole all dotting down, with Lloyd Hayes adding 12 points from the tee.

The bonus point victory keeps Rotherham in the hunt at the top of the table, as they continue their pursuit of leaders Leeds Tykes.

However, this game was not a straightforward one and as expected beforehand Fylde pushed Rotherham all the way to the final whistle.

Indeed, had the hosts been more clinical inside the opening 20 minutes they could have raced into a healthy lead.

However, a combination of good defence by Roth, a bit of luck and a deficiency of accuracy from the hosts meant the scoreboard remained tight throughout.

Lloyd Hayes opened the scoring after 3 minutes with a penalty before Fylde’s loosehead prop Corey Bowker showed good pace for a front row forward to gallop home from outside the 22 for a converted try.

Not to be outdone Titans loosehead prop Charlie Capps got in on the act just 3 minutes later when a nice offload from tighthead prop Reece Ward sent him in from 15 metres. Lloyd Hayes added the extras from in front of the sticks.

Despite the home side having the better of things it was Rotherham who scored next to extend their lead.

A dropped ball from Fylde just inside the Rotherham 22 was collected by second rower John Okafor. The big man opened his legs and galloped almost 80 metres with half the Fylde team trying to chase him down, before he dotted down next to the posts in front of the clubhouse. Hayes’ extras extended Roth’s lead to 17-7.

Unfortunately for the South Yorkshire side they suffered two yellow cards inside the final 10 minutes of the half.

During that spell Fylde exploited their numerical advantage by scoring a converted try through centre Scott Rawlings after a good break from second rower Tom Burrows and two penalties from Greg Smith to send them in at the break leading 20-17.

Rotherham improved in the second half and began to exert some control as they stepped up their intensity.

Lloyd Hayes levelled matters on 46 minutes with a penalty before shortly after Rotherham regained the lead when scrum half JB Bruzulier showed great desire to get over in the corner following a great offload from Harry Dunne. Hayes impressively nailed the touchline conversion.

Just before the hour mark Roth secured the bonus point when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of a powerful driving maul. The conversion was missed but Roth held a comfortable 32-20 advantage.

However, a Fylde try with 3 minutes remaining from Tane Bentley, converted by Smith set up a nervy finish.

Nevertheless Rotherham held firm to see out the game and secure an important win against a good side.

Speaking after the match Titans Gaz Lewis reflected:

“We’re delighted with the result because Fylde could have been out of sight in the opening 20 minutes. We got the bounce of the ball and they didn’t manage to capitalise on the opportunities they created.

“In the second half the lads put in a superb performance and so to come away with a five point win at a very difficult place is pleasing.

“We suffered a lot of disruption coming into the game; not being able to train on Thursday due to the snow didn’t help and maybe that was a reason why we were a little slow out of the blocks today.

“There was more disruption when we lost out Captain Zak Poole inside the first 30 minutes, but full credit to the boys, they put in a huge shift and worked their socks off for the win.

“We spoke at half time about how to manage the difficult moments in the game and I think in the second half we saw some real character and great leadership.

“Charlie Capps did a superb job leading the team after we lost Zak, Matt Smith really stepped up in the line out, I thought he was first class and JB made a huge impact coming off the bench; his experience really told as he managed key areas and gave us some good field position.                                                   

“So whilst it was a great team performance, there were some outstanding individual performances too.

“I think what turned it in the end was we were able to get some important field position which allowed us to go to work and build our maul. That’s our super-power and when we worked our way into the right areas we were able to utilise that strength.

“We’ll enjoy this result and then quickly switch our focus to Sheffield next week because that is a huge game, they are having a great season and there’s a bit of added interest with the former Rotherham links at the club.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 495

Yellow Card: Payne, Townend (Titans)

Titans: Capps (T), Okafor (T), Bruzulier (T), Cole (T), Hayes (2P, 3C)

Fylde: Bowker (T), Rawlings (T), Bentley (T), Smith (2P, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Bruzulier 40), 10 Will Milner, 9 Will Metcalfe, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 62), 30 Reece Ward (Kivalu 27), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith, 7 Marcus Payne (Kay 64), 25 Harry Newborn, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.) (Bustin 27).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Rupert Kay, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 JB Bruzulier. 

Fylde: 15 Jordan Dorrington, 14 Adam Lanigan (Reader 57), 13 Sam Stott, 12 Scott Rawlings (Forster 41), 11 Ben Turner, 10 Greg Smith, 9 Will Wootton, 1 Corey Bowker (Brookes 77), 2 Ben Gregory (Capt.), 24 Peter Altham, 4 Oli Parkinson, 5 Tom Burrows, 6 Matt Ashcroft, 7 Tane Bentley (Parker 66), 8 Toby Harrison (Bentley 76).

Replacements: 16 Alex Brookes, 17 Sam Parker, 18 Tye Raymont, 22 Freddie Reader, 19 Tom Forster.