Billingham 26 Titans 40

Rotherham Titans brought their Centenary season to an end in spectacular fashion by winning promotion with a 40-26 win over Billingham on a cool afternoon at Greenwood Road.

Titans victory will see them compete next year in National One after a stunning season saw them win 25 out of 26 games and secure their first promotion in 21 years.

The South Yorkshire side outscored their hosts by 5 tries to 4, with dot downs from Jack Bergmanas, Laurence Cowen-Leak, John Okafor, Jack Taylor and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 12 points from the tee.

The points from Lloyd Hayes made sure for the second season running he topped the National Leagues as the leading point’s scorer and he also broke Juan Pablo Socino’s club record of most points in a season.

Titans’ victory was incredibly their fifteenth consecutive bonus-point win since their narrow loss to Leeds in November and congratulations to Leeds for making the title race an exciting one that went to the final day of the season.

And congratulations to Billingham who deserved their bonus point from the game which guarantees them their place in National 2 North next term.

The game was a tense one with so much at stake for both clubs and although Rotherham had secured the bonus point before the break, they only led by 26-19 with Billingham already on 3 tries.

The second half saw Rotherham take control and extend their lead with an early penalty from Hayes and a try from winger Jack Taylor and when Hayes knocked over another penalty on 72 minutes to make it 37-19 the game was effectively wrapped up.

However, there was late drama on 80 metres when prop forward Dan Dixon got over the line for Billingham to secure their status in the league and well done to them.

However, Lloyd Hayes had the last say with a very late penalty and as they say, the crowd went wild – for both teams!

“It’s a bit of a fairy-tale,” said Titans Harvey Biljon.

He added, "A promotion in a centenary season is something special and in ten, 15 or 20 years’ time people will look back and remember a team that had to stick with it for so long in second place and then go and win a real pressure game (against Leeds) and manage to stay undefeated in the second half of the season and see it out away from home.

"Today’s game reflected the season, we had some real challenges with the way Billingham came at us and we had to problem solve. There was tension through the whole game but the way the team closed out the win through the second half was pretty special considering the way we were challenged in the first half.

"In the huddle afterwards, I thanked the players for their effort and told them they deserved it. They’re champions. No-one can ever take that away from them.”

Try scorer John Okafor said, “Harvey kept telling us, ‘stay in the fight. Don’t look at the league table. I know you guys are the best team in the league so keep going.’ Beating Leeds at Clifton Lane last month was the pivotal moment for us.”

Skipper Zak Poole added, “I’ve been here a long time. This is my club and when it’s your club and you achieve something it means so much more. We’ve been through some downs and fallen short but now we have finally made it happen.

“Today wasn’t just about the lads out there. It was about the fans and every single person connected with Rotherham Rugby Club.”

Referee: Henry Pearson

Attendance: 1002

Yellow Card: Bustin & Newborn (Titans)

Titans: Bergmanas (T), Cowen-Leak (T), Okafor (T), Taylor (T), Hayes (T, 3C, 3P)

Billingham:  Kirkbride (T), Kirby (T), Dixon (T), Peter Evans (T, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Kivalu 78), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 72), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 61), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 79), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 19 John Okafor, 25 Harry Newborn, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Payne 79), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 23 Marcus Payne, 22 Will Metcalfe.  

Billingham: 15 Elliott Husband (Capt.) (Youll 65), 14 Jonny Horner, 13 Matt Kirby, 12 Joe Evans, 11 Joe Scarborough (Groark 66), 10 Peter Evans, 9 Connor Foley, 23 Dan Dixon, 2 Ed Graham, 3 James Watson (Beadling 79), 24 Ryan Kirkbride (Walton 34), 5 Mike Whinn (Kirkbride 65), 6 Tom Campbell, 7 Nathan Myers, 8 Dan Burns.  

Replacements: 16 Kieran Clark, 17 Harry Beadling, 18 Mike Walton, 19 Peter Youll, 20 Louie Groark. 

Sheffield Tigers 14 Titans 36

Rotherham Titans had to work extremely hard to secure a 36-14 win over South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Tigers on a bright afternoon at Dore Moor.

Titans outscored the hosts by 4 tries to 2 with dot downs coming from Laurence Cowen-Leak, Callum Bustin, Jack Townend and Jack Taylor, with Lloyd Hayes adding 16 points from the tee.

The win puts Rotherham on the brink of promotion and a return to National One after three seasons in N2N.

Titans will become champions next Saturday if they beat Billingham at Greenwood Road – a game no one at Clifton Lane is taking for granted.

This game at Dore Moor proved to be every bit as challenging as expected, with the home side giving everything to stop the Clifton Lane side.

Rotherham however eventually got the upper hand, securing the bonus point try in the final play of the game.

Indeed it was Rotherham who started the brighter as they raced into an early lead when back rower Laurence Cowen-Leak scored in the corner after receiving a short pass from Harry Dunne.

Tigers came back strongly as they showed plenty of emotion and they took the lead when former Titan Josh Redfern powered over for Mark Ireland to convert.

The game was shaping up nicely and there was plenty of physicality on show as each side attempted to wrestle control.

Titans regained the lead on 25 minutes when number 8 Callum Bustin peeled off a maul to bulldoze his way over in the corner.

It looked as though Rotherham would go in at the break with the advantage; however in the fifth minutes of injury time Tigers worked the ball nicely through the backs for centre Sam Wager to dot down under the post. Ireland knocked over the extras to send the home side in 14-12 to the good.

Titans have often this season produced strong second half performances and this proved to be the case once again.

The league’s top point’s scorer, Lloyd Hayes, proved deadly with the boot as he slotted over four penalties as Rotherham slowly took charge of the game.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes Rotherham increased their advantage and effectively wrapped up the game when full back Jack Townend ran in for the third try, after good work in the build up from Will Milner. Hayes’ conversion made it 31-14.

In the final play the cherry was added when winger Jack Taylor went in at the corner after Cowen-Leak had made good ground to send him in.

The large contingent of Rotherham’s travelling support duly made the appropriate noise on full time.

The focus will now immediately shift to Saturday’s game at Billingham, where a win for Rotherham would see them gain their first promotion for 21 years.

Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

"Sheffield Tigers came to play. They were fired up and they put in a hell of a performance.

"Beforehand we were calm but after the kick-off you could see the anxiety because the players knew how important the game was.

"Once we spoke at half time then we were in a position to change gear and let the game unfold and we fully deserved a bonus point win.

"Nothing changes for us. We've worked hard and we'll do so again and enjoy the trip to Billingham. This gives us something to go and play for on the last day and that's exciting."

Referee: Daniel Woods

Attendance: 510

Yellow Card: Hayes, Capps, Bustin (Titans), Redfern (Tigers)

Titans: Cowen-Leak (T), Bustin (T), Townend (T), Taylor (T), Hayes (4P, 2C)

Sheffield Tigers:  Redfern (T), Wager (T), Ireland (2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 74), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 59), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 72), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.) (Kivalu 4), 19 John Okafor, 25 Rupert Kay (Payne 74), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 23 Marcus Payne, 22 Will Metcalfe.   

Sheffield Tigers: 15 Will Baker, 14 Jamie Broadley, 13 Barney Goatley, 12 Sam Wager (Manderfield 69), 11 James Norman, 10 Mark Ireland, 9 Ryan Holmes, 16 Nick Bingham (Garside 56), 2 Will Archer, 3 Karl Garside (Bennett 40) (Bingham 77), 4 Joe Fitzsimons, 5 Dom Santimaria (Hawksworth 56), 21 Connor Scott (Cartwright 45), 6 Liam Wallace (Monks 69), 8 Josh Redfern.

Replacements: 1 Will Bennett, 17 Harry Cartwright, 18 Dan Hawksworth, 19 Lee Monks, 20 Ben Manderfield.

Photo Credit: Gareth Lyons

Titans 67 Preston Grasshoppers 20

Rotherham Titans ran in 10 tries to beat a determined Preston Grasshoppers side 67-20 on a breezy afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ dot down came via a brace from Jack Townend, with one each coming for John Okafor, Charlie Capps, Zak Poole, Jack Taylor, Luke Cole, Cuchulain Livingstone, Callum Bustin and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 15 points from the tee and Will Milner also chipped in with 2 points.

The win was Titans biggest of the season and the supporters celebrated accordingly in the clubhouse afterwards.

Those celebrations hit new heights as news of Leeds Tykes defeat at Fylde came filtering through.

The Tykes defeat means if Rotherham wins their final two games they will be promoted to National One and this would be a fitting reward for them in their Centenary season.

This game saw Rotherham start brightly as they took the lead inside two minutes when John Okafor dotted down following a tremendous break from Lloyd Hayes.

Preston’s Ed Keohane and Titans’ Hayes then traded penalties before the next try came just before the half hour when Roth’s Harry Dunne fed full back Jack Townend who showed great desire to get over.

The momentum was now with the home side and the lead was extended when a nice offload from John Okafor close to the line was finished off by prop forward Charlie Capps.

The second half saw Titans increase the intensity as they looked to go all season at home undefeated.

The bonus point was wrapped up within four minutes when skipper Zak Poole touched down after collecting a sharp pass from Harry Dunne.

From the restart Rotherham scored immediately; Zak Poole made good ground before finding John Okafor who threw a sumptuous long-pass out to winger Jack Taylor for him to coast home for a lovely try.

To be fair Preston never stopped trying and on 50 minutes they were rewarded when a loose ball was hacked on by back rower Rob Willetts who won the foot race to collect and go in next to the posts.

Titans however responded quickly and effectively as they ran in another two scores.

Jack Townend grabbed his second of the game when he barged over in the corner having collected a pass on the edge of the 22 and then hooker Luke Cole finished off after more good work in the build up from Lloyd Hayes to make it 48-10.

Despite the points mounting up against them Grasshoppers continued to work hard and they scored a second try when hooker Harry Holden dotted down from the tail of a maul from a line out.

Once again however Rotherham hit back with a brace of tries.

It was Lloyd Hayes who this time finished off near the corner as the ball was spread the full width of the pitch; this was followed by Cuchulain Livingstone grabbing his first try for the club as he showed good ambition to get over following a lovely long pass from Hayes.

Five minutes from time Preston grabbed a third try through second rower Ally Murray, before in the final play of the game Titans’ Callum Bustin dotted down from the back of a powerful scrum.

Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“We spoke before the game about putting in a performance that would support having an unbeaten season at home and I think that’s what they went out and did from minute one.

“It was great to see John Okafor score early and then we battled through the first half and in the second half I thought we saw the best that Rotherham have played since I got here.

“We’ve been operating in fits and starts through the season, whereas today we’ve stuck to task and played really well and that was reflected in the score.

“The team has improved a lot as the season has progressed and today’s performance was a big step in the right direction.

“We still have two tough games to go and the aim is to maintain our progression to the end of the season.”

Referee: Michael Harris

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Hayes (Titans)

Titans: Townend (2T), Okafor (T), Capps (T), Poole (T), Taylor (T), Cole (T), Livingstone (T), Bustin (T) Hayes (T, P, 6C), Milner (1C)

Preston Grasshoppers: Willetts (T), Holden (T), Murray (T), Keohane (1P, 1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi (Livingstone 63), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 45), 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 57), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 35), 3 Gareth Denman (Kivalu 30), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 19 John Okafor, 25 Harry Newborn (Kay 47), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 26 Rupert Kay, 20 Cuchulain Livingstone, 22 Will Metcalfe.   

Preston Grasshoppers: 15 Jacob Browne, 14 Craig Procter, 13 Jack Lightowler, 12 Cameron Brown, 11 Tyler Spence, 10 Ed Keohane, 9 Joe Harrison (O’Donnell 40), 1 Will Parkinson, 2 Harry Holden, 3 Mike Ashdown (Trippier 40), 4 Ewan Naylor (Richardson 50), 5 Ally Murray, 6 Declan Norrington, 7 Rob Willetts (Luke Procter 53), 8 Josh Longson (Capt.).

Replacements: 25 Olli Trippier, 17 Luke Procter, 18 Scott Richardson, 19 Ciaran O’Donnell, 20 Rory Brand. 

Photo Credit: Gareth Lyons