Esher 34 Titans 68

Rotherham Titans stunned Esher to with a mighty second half display to run out 68-34 winners on a mild afternoon at Molesley Road.

Trailing 31-12 at the break Rotherham looked to be in a bit of trouble.

However, a powerful second forty from the South Yorkshire side saw them score 8 tries to win the half 56-3.

In total Rotherham scored 10 tries, one of which was a penalty try, with the other nine coming from Ellis Thomas, Callum Bustin, Ronnie Du Randt, Tomasi Tanumi, Charlie Capps, JB Bruzulier, Jamie Cooke, Zak Poole and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter adding 16 points from the tee.

Zak Poole’s try was his 51st for Rotherham, making him the clubs all-time leading try scorer, beating John Dudley’s record of 50, which included one in the cup.

Titans victory keeps them in second place in the table and narrows the gap to Richmond at the top to 2 points.

However, after 33 minutes of the game it looked unlikely that Rotherham would be returning home with any points after Esher made a blistering start by racing into a 31-7 lead, wrapping up the try bonus point along the way.

Esher scrum half Henry Mortimer helped himself to a fine hat trick, with flanker Olly Norris also crossing the whitewash.

Titans only response in that opening 30 minutes was an Ellis Thomas try under the sticks following a period of powerful ball retention by the forwards close to the line.

Crucially however just before the break Rotherham added a second try when number 8 Callum Bustin crashed his way over to send his side in at the break trailing 31-12.

With much to do in the second half it was important Rotherham made inroads early on.

This they did and incredibly inside the opening 10 minutes they ran in three converted tries to take the lead!

Ronnie Du Randt showed some clever footwork for the first try, Tomasi Tanumi finished off nicely in the far corner after a delightful cross-field kick from Rob Povey and Charlie Capps powered over from a 5-metre line out.

To Esher’s credit they retook the lead shortly after with a Tom Walker penalty, but that would be as good as it got for the hosts.

In a frenetic final 20 minutes Rotherham scored five further tries, the first of which was a penalty try after Esher illegally stopped a Titans scrum from scoring on their line when full back Harry Faulkner decided to join the party.

Lloyd Hayes was the next to score after Zak Poole stripped Esher of the ball and sent the centre in at the corner.

JB Bruzulier was next to score when he dotted down after taking the ball out of the back of a maul to work his way over.

Jamie Cooke scored Titans ninth try which was probably the best of the match.

The move started inside the Titans 22 when Lloyd Hayes received the ball 10 metres from his line. The centre made a terrific break down into the Esher half before finding Zak Poole in support; he in turn found Ronnie Du Randt who fed the ball out to Jamie Cooke for a belter of a score!

The tenth and final try fittingly came for the skipper Zak Poole who showed great awareness to take a quick tap-and-go penalty to seal an outstanding second half display and stunning victory.

The Titans will now rest a few bruised bodies before quickly switching their focus to the visit of Birmingham Moseley to Clifton Lane this Saturday.

Reflecting post-match Titans Harvey Biljon said:

“I think it took us 30 minutes to get off the bus, but there was a key moment when we got the score just before half time.

“We had to be realistic; we only had the ball 3 times in the first half and scored twice and the rest is probably just a little bit of ill discipline and us not executing.

“However, in the same breath of air weren’t Esher good at what they did in the first half. To go against a defence that’s prides itself, I think they deserved their tries.

“I think what was crucial was half time and the clear messages in the way we needed to adapt in the second half.

“I was really impressed with the playing group, because sometimes those moments can get emotional, but what they did is they got some specific messages, they stuck to task and to and have such a dominant second half in the way they did, I was very proud of them today.”

Titans: Pen Try, Thomas (T), Bustin (T), Du Randt (T), Tanumi (T), Capps (T), Bruzulier (T), Cooke (T), Poole (T), Hayes (T, 8C)

Esher: Mortimer (3T), Norris (T), Walker (4C, 2P)

Yellow Card: None

Attendance: 485

Referee: Alan Chandrachud

Assistant Referees: Alex Powdrell & Andrew Green

Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Calum Barrett, 10 Rob Povey (Naylor 76), 9 James Naylor (Bruzulier 41), 1 Charlie Capps © (Toerien 65), 2 Morgan Veness, 3 Andrew Foster (Harrison 70), 4 Zak Poole ©, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 Ellis Thomas (Newborn 25), 7 Travis Gordon, 8 Callum Bustin (Logavatu 72).

Replacements: 16 Harry Newborn, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Eoin Harrison, 27 Joji Logavatu, 20 JB Bruzulier.

Esher: 15 Harry Faulkner, 14 Fergus Donnelly, 13 Myles Rawstron-Rudd (Keh 62), 12 Owen Waters, 11 Stan Norman, 10 Tom Walker, 9 Henry Mortimer (Bullock 52), 1 Emmett Murphy, 2 Joe Vajner (Larson 28) (Vajner 31), 3 Henry Pearson (Ashworth 41), 4 Alex McLean, 5 Adam Bullett (Larson 48), 6 Olly Norris, 7 Gabriel Seriki, 23 Frankie Souto (Pearson 43) (Gayle 64).

Replacements: 16 Reece Larson, 17 Caleb Ashworth, 18 Taylor Gayle, 19 Johnny Keh, 20 Sam Bullock.

Bishop’s Stortford 11 Titans 17

Rotherham Titans endured a blood and thunder battle before eventually outmuscling a physical Bishop’s Stortford side 17-11 on a wet and grey afternoon at Silver Leys.

Titans outscored the hosts by two tries to one with a penalty try and a Lloyd Hayes dot down, with the latter also adding 5 points from the tee.

The hard-fought win sees Rotherham go into second spot in the table, 2 points behind Richmond, following Rams defeat to Birmingham Moseley.

This brutal clash took its toll in terms of injuries for Rotherham, as both hookers, Jack Bergmanas and Luke Cole and back rower John Okafor all left the field with worrying hand injuries.

The game itself was expected to be a challenging one, with Bishop’s having already beaten Titans earlier in the season at Clifton Lane and that’s exactly how it turned out.

The home side enjoyed the better moments of the first half, although it must be said with a little help from the visitors.

However, Stortford took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when fly half Mike Cooke successfully nailed a penalty from distance and indeed, he could have doubled his sides advantage 15 minutes later, but surprisingly this time failed with his effort.

Nevertheless, the home side did extend their lead a minute later when centre Austin Pope wriggled over for an unconverted try, following a brief period of pressure inside the Titans 22.

Trailing 8-0 Rotherham remained calm and didn’t press the panic button.

Six minutes before the break they manoeuvred play downfield before eventually crashing over to score from a driving maul through Callum Bustin. However, before the number 8 could celebrate, referee Matt Sharpe upgraded the score to a penalty try.

Only desperate defending from Rotherham on their own line ensured they would go in at half time trailing by a solitary point at 8-7.

The second half saw the South Yorkshire side pick up the intensity and their pack started to gain the upper hand, particularly at scrum time.

However, the next score for Rotherham came from their backs, when a neat chip over the top from JB Bruzulier was chased and finished off by Lloyd Hayes, who then dried himself off before knocking over the conversion.

Before the hour mark Hayes nailed a long-range penalty to crucially extend Titans lead beyond a score.

Both sides from here on in continued to batter the other, as each looked to get the edge, but the only points scored came for the hosts in the final play when Cooke knocked over a 3-pointer to deservedly secure a losing bonus point.

The win was a huge one for Rotherham they’ll now try and rest some bruised bodies before going again next week when they travel to Esher for a rearranged fixture.

Commenting afterwards Harvey Biljon said:

“I think we set the tone back at training on Tuesday and Thursday around what was going to happen when we came to Bishop’s Stortford.

“Bishop’s are a team if we’re honest that are running high with confidence after just beating Rams and today with the conditions as they were, it was always going to come down to a bit of character and one or two moments in the game.

“But, for us to come through with a win away from home, with the amount of adversity we faced today is exceptional.

“We lost both our hookers, we lost line-out personnel, we lost key decision makers during the game, and I think 4 players were playing out of position at the end and we were down to 14.

“The players just stuck in with heart; sometimes you’ve got a plan in place and all those kinds of things, but I think the plan went out of the window and Rotherham Titans just showed absolute character!”

Titans: Penalty try, Hayes (T, C, P)

Bishop’s Stortford: Pope (T), Cooke 2P)

Yellow Card: Poole (Titans), Hill & Brownhill (Bishop’s)

Attendance: 535

Referee: Matt Sharpe

Assistant Referees: Steven Randall & Ben McNamara

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Calum Barrett, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Travis Gordon, 11 Ronnie Du Randt, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 JB Bruzulier (Naylor 61), 1 Charlie Capps ©, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 17) (Newborn 57), 3 Andrew Foster, 4 Zak Poole ©, 5 Harry Maguire, 6 John Okafor (Toerien 74), 7 Ellis Thomas, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Rikki Stout, 25 Harry Newborn, 21 James Naylor.

Bishop’s Stortford: 15 David Hayes, 14 Josh Stannard (Biard 54), 13 Tom Mills, 12 Austin Pope, 11 Alex Gilham (Hill 78), 10 Mike Cooke, 9 Chris Bolton (Briers 58), 1 Tristan Smith (Brownhill 57), 2 Isaac Bell (Rayment 49), 3 Toby Hill (Smith 75), 4 Hamish Ferguson, 5 Fraizer Kiff, 6 Harrison Langworthy, 7 Ollie Jones (Johnson 57), 8 Will Rogers (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Alex Rayment, 17 Seb Brownhill, 18 Sam Johnson, 19 Charlie Briers, 20 Jack Biard.  

Titans 24 Leicester Lions 7

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their 24-7 victory over a tenacious Leicester Lions side on a cool afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored Leicester by three tries to one with dot downs coming from Travis Gordon, Jack Bergmanas and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 9 points from the tee.

Leicester Lions didn’t stop battling from the moment the game started until it finished in the 11th minute of injury time and they deserve massive plaudits for their efforts.

However, the home side never looked like losing and because of the increased expectations as the season has progressed, a lot of people around the ground, including the players, were disappointed at not collecting the bonus point.

That’s testament to Titans rapid progress this term as a newly promoted side from National 2 North, but whatever happens from hereon in, the season must surely be regarded as a success.

Titans nosed ahead early in this one, when Lloyd Hayes added a 3-pointer from the tee to keep his personal tally for the season ticking over nicely, as he leads the scoring charts in National 1.

Lions responded when a bouncing ball was collected by hooker Oliver Taylor who broke through a gap before finding Harry Palmer in support with what looked like a forward pass, but the officials didn’t have a great view and Palmer raced in from 15 meters to score a converted try.

Ironically for all their efforts these points would be the only ones scored by Lions.

By the half hour mark Rotherham grabbed the lead when Lloyd Hayes intercepted a pass around halfway and raced in unopposed to score next to the posts.

Crucially in the final play of the first half Titans extended their advantage when back rower Travis Gordon showed good strength and desire to crash over for another converted try, to send his side in at the break with a 17-7 lead.

When Jack Bergmanas dotted down from a catch and drive shortly after the restart to extend the lead to 24-7, it seemed inevitable the home side would go on to grab a bonus point.

However, in no small part, the tenacious Lions defence ensured this wasn’t to be; although Rotherham thought they had grabbed their fourth try in the final play, but prop Andrew Foster was held up over the line.

Still, any win in National 1 is a big win and now Rotherham will prepare for what looks like a very difficult task next time when they travel south to take on Bishop’s Stortford.

Commenting after the match Harvey Biljon said:

“I’ve just been in the huddle with the players, and they’re frustrated that we didn’t get the bonus point, but I see it a whole different way. You’ve got a team in Leicester Lions that’s desperate, that fought for everything today and we were in a tough game in difficult conditions.

“Can we be better, of course we can, but we’ve gone and won 24-7 and we’d take that every week; some people are getting carried away with what the expectation is. We’ve taken a great result today to get the win and more importantly as we’ve said before, we will find moments in games where we have to go away and coach that in training so we will be better in the future.

“In the last 15 minutes we probably could have controlled it a bit better when we had the ball; however, in saying that in the final five minutes we managed to work the ball all the way up the pitch and how agonising is it when you are held up in the last play of the game; that’s pretty frustrating.”

Titans: Gordon (T), Bergmanas (T), Hayes, (T, P, 3C)

Leicester Lions: Palmer (T), Bouchier (1C)

Yellow Card: Ronnie Du Randt (Titans)

Attendance: 250

Referee: Tim Allatt

Assistant Referees: Matt Daubney & Tudor Griffiths

Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Calum Barrett, 10 Jack Townend (Poole 69), 9 James Naylor (JB Bruzulier 55), 1 Zach Toerien (Donkor 57), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 40) (Cole 80), 3 Eoin Harrison (Foster 40), 4 Zak Poole © (Newborn 49), 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 John Okafor, 7 Travis Gordon, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Alastair Donkor, 18 Andrew Foster, 25 Harry Newborn, 19 JB Bruzulier.

Leicester Lions: 15 Joe Brock, 14 James Stubbs (Edwards 64), 13 Jamel Hamilton, 12 Charlie Davies, 11 Jake Sterland, 10 Luke Bouchier, 9 Charlie Bemand (Stubbs 71), 1 Liam Burrows (Thompson 53), 2 Oliver Taylor © (Allen 55), 3 Aaron Dawson (Carr 53), 4 Harry Palmer, 5 Ben Almond (Murdoch 46), 6 Jordan Tebbatt (Burrows 74), 7 Cam De Beer (Almond 52), 8 Joey Britton.

Replacements: 16 Arthur Allen, 17 Isaac Thompson, 18 Max Carr, 19 Johnny Murdoch, 20 Jack Edwards.

Photo: Gareth Siddons