Pirates 62 Titans 47

Spirited Titans fall short in Penzance

Rotherham Titans put in spirited performance in a high-scoring thriller of a match, before ultimately losing out 62-47 to Cornish Pirates at the Mennaye Field.

Titans played their full part in this barn-stormer of a Championship fixture and collected their first point of the campaign as they ran in seven tries.

Titans scrum half, Rhodri Davies, caught the eye in particular and was arguably man-of-the-match having raced in for a hat-trick of tries to cap-off a fine individual performance.

Pirates also enjoyed a productive try-scoring afternoon as they ran in 8 tries in a game which produced 109 points.

The game started in disastrous fashion for Rotherham, as within 5 minutes they shipped two converted tries through Pete Laverick and Alex O’Meara, to trail 14-0 after some indifferent work in defence.

Stunned by Pirates’ opening salvo, Titans regrouped and responded almost immediately as scrum half Rhodri Davies collected a neat pass from Will Thomas to race in for the visitors opening dot down.

A whole 6 minutes would elapse before the next score, but when it did, it came from Pirates nippy winger Kyle Moyle who showed good footwork to score his side’s third try.

Before the hosts secured the four-try bonus point on 19 minutes through hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie, Rotherham were awarded a penalty try after further good work down the right hand side from their Welsh Wizard Rhodri Davies, who was prevented from scoring by a high tackle from Alex Day. Day received 10 minutes in the sin bin for his transgression.

On 23 minutes Titans reduced their arrears to 7 points when a neat backs move was finished off by centre Luke Peters in the far right corner, with Lee Millar striking a terrific touchline conversion.

Titans had the opportunity to draw closer moments later after their pack forced a penalty, unfortunately for Millar this time his effort just drifted across the face of the posts.

Just after the half hour mark Pirates extended their lead when fly half Laurence May tagged over a 3-pointer.

Despite half time drawing near there was still time for each side to add a further score in this frenzied first half. For the hosts Kyle Moyle cut a great line to burst through at pace for his second try, before deep into injury time Tom Williams bulldozed his way over from close range to secure the Titans with their first point of the season.

The second period was as unrelenting as the first as the glut of tries continued to flow. Within 13 minutes of the restart each side secured a further two tries; Cowan-Dickie and Nicolas De Battista crossed for the hosts, whilst Rhodri Davies demonstrated tremendous footwork and speed to cross the whitewash twice more to complete his hat-trick.

And when, with 19 minutes remaining Titans replacement hooker, Luke Cole, crashed over for a converted try, Titans trailed by just 5 points as the overworked scoreboard signalled 52-47.

However, any hopes the Titans had of a memorable win in Penzance were effectively dashed late on when referee Dean Richards awarded the hosts a penalty try, and with the final kick of a pulsating encounter, Pirates replacement Will Cargill knocked over a penalty from in front of the sticks.

Commenting afterwards Titans Andy Key reflected, “I Think today was more about our character, we’ve got this never-say-die approach and a great attitude and I think today the boys showed that. But we also know from a realistic point of view we can’t afford to let as many tries in as we did.

“So whilst the fact we can score 47 points is very good, by the same token we conceded 62 points and that’s not acceptable.

“We have been working hard on our defence for the whole of the season and there are times when I think individually we defend or tackle well, but at the moment we are struggling to pick up and understand perhaps collectively who it is we need to hit.

“That’s disappointing because there’s been a lot of time and energy spent on that in training, but I take my hat off to the boys because they didn’t at any stage say they can’t get back into the game and they were always in with a sniff; it’s just a little bit disappointing in the end that we come away not have collected the second bonus point.

“However, we have taken a step in the right direction, there’s stuff we are doing in the pack which is now paying dividends, we are opening up sides and from that perspective we can be pleased.

“We always look at our performances and it’s about trying to be proud of them. If we look after the simple things and the little things then the big performances will come.

“We got a lot of things right today, we were a bit critical over the last few weeks because we’ve been creating chances but not finishing them off. Today we’ve made those chances and we’ve finished them off and to score 7 tries in any game is a pretty good feat and to score 47 points and not win the game is a bit difficult to swallow.”

Referee: Dean Richards

Attendance: 1,241

Yellow Card: Day (Pirates)

Titans: Davies (3T), L Peters (T), Tom Williams (T), Cole (T), Penalty Try, Millar (4C), Ryan (1C).

Cornish Pirates: Moyle (2T), Cowan-Dickie (2T), Laverick (T), O’Meara (T), De Battista (T), Penalty Try, L May (7C, P), Cargill (P).

Titans: 15 Will Thomas, 14 Ben Foley (Cheshire 76), 13 Luke Peters, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Jake Henry, 10 Lee Millar (Ryan 52), 9 Rhodri Davies (Vieira 71), 1 Tom Williams (Toby Williams 50), 2 Jonny Murphy (Cole 16), 3 Matt Shields (Foster 64), 4 James Lasis (Burns 52), 5 Byron Hodge, 6 Adam Peters, 7 Tom Calladine (Capt.), 8 Dan Grange.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Toby Williams, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Tom Burns, 20 Francisco Vieira, 21 Caolan Ryan, 22 Drew Cheshire.

Cornish Pirates:  15 Toby May, 14 Alex O’Meara, 13 Pete Laverick, 12 Nicolas De Battista (Capt.), 11 Kyle Moyle, 10 Laurence May, 9 Alex Day, 1 Marlen Walker, 2 Tom Cowan-Dickie, 3 Christian Judge, 4 Rupert Cooper, 5 Josh Caulfield, 6 Dan Lee, 7 Matt Bolwell, 8 Tom Lawday.

Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Tom Duncan, 19 Toby Freeman, 20 Mike Pope, 21 Will Cargill, 22 Dan Koster.

Titans 21 Hartpury 32

Titans beaten by Hartpury

Rotherham Titans put in a much-improved all-round performance against new boys Hartpury, before ultimately losing out 32-21 at Clifton Lane.

Indeed Rotherham started the game very brightly and controlled much of the game in the opening 15 minutes and having created several try-scoring opportunities, they would have been disappointed to only have led the game 3-0 on the quarter hour mark with a Lee Millar penalty kick.

Eventually Hartpury established a foothold in the game and stunned Rotherham by scoring 19 points in a 15 minute spell, as they ran in 3 tries scored by Harry Randall, Elias Caven and Harry Cochrane, two of which were converted by Jacob Perry. The Titans will have been disappointed with the space and opportunities given to the visitors during this spell.

The second period saw the host’s all-round game improve significantly as the held the upper hand throughout the 40-minute period, eventually winning the half 15-13.

Titans reduced their arrears on 47 minutes after back rower Adam Peters, making his first Titans start, bulldozed his way over from close range, after some sterling work from his fellow pack members.

Jacob Perry and Lee Millar then traded penalties, before Titans added their second try on 63 minutes when a barnstorming run down the left wing saw Jake Henry gallop over the whitewash. Millar tagged over the extras to leave Rotherham trailing by a point; 22-21.

With the momentum now firmly in Titans favour, they would have been confident of claiming their first win of the season.

However, credit must be extended to the visitors as they regrouped to score the match winning try on 75 minutes through replacement prop Tom Heard. Replacement kicker James Williams converted and knocked over a penalty 3 minutes later to seal the match.

Speaking after the game Titans Andy Key reflected, “The result was a frustrating one because we brought a lot to the game today; I thought our first 15 minutes was right up there and that’s exactly how we want to play. We put them on the back foot, but we were unable to finish off the opportunities that we created.

“Then arguably it was the next 25 minutes what did it for us; we gave them far too much space and far too many opportunities. They came into our 22 on four occasions and each time they went away with points. Whilst crediting them for that, we need to be looking hard at the way we were during that spell.

“We said at half time there’s no way we can allow ourselves to defend like that and allow them to come in and score in the manner they did. I think we saw the improvement from the boys in the second half, they upped everything including physicality, commitment, pace in the game and our fitness was there right up until the end.

“So whilst we were really pleased with the second half performance, you look at the final score and it is still a defeat. However, going forward, if we can start games and go forward in the manner we did in the second half for the whole game, then we really will be on the up.”

Referee: Jack Makepeace

Attendance: 882

Yellow Card: Harden (Hartpury)

Titans: A Peters (T), Henry (T), Millar (3P, C)

Hartpury: Randall (T), Caven (T), Cochrane (T), Heard (T), Perry (P, 2C), Williams (P, C)

Titans: 15 Will Thomas, 14 Drew Cheshire, 13 Luke Peters, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Jake Henry, 10 Lee Millar, 9 Rhodri Davies, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Luke Cole, 3 Matt Shields, 4 James Lasis, 5 Byron Hodge, 6 Adam Peters, 7 Tom Calladine (Capt.), 8 Dan Grange.

Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Tom Williams, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Tom Burns, 20 Francisco Vieira, 21 Caolan Ryan, 22 Ben Foley.

Hartpury: 15 Mike Wilcox, 14 Harry Cochrane, 13 Nick Carpenter, 12 Luke Eves, 11 Elias Caven, 10 Jacob Perry, 9 Harry Randall, 1 Dan Murphy, 2 Will Tanner, 3 Rupert Harden, 4 BJ Edwards, 5 Rhys Oakley, 6 Rob Langley, 7 Mat Gilbert, 8 Iain Grieve.

Replacements: 16 Luke Stratford, 17 Mike Flook, 18 Tom Heard, 19 Joe Quinn, 20 Darrel Dyer, 21 James Williams, 22 George Boulton.

Doncaster 44 Titans 0

Titans beaten by local rivals

Rotherham Titans are still looking for their first points of the season after suffering a disappointing 44-0 loss to fierce local rivals Doncaster Knights who ran in 6 unanswered tries at Castle Park.

The match was the 25th league game between the sides, but the first in which either side has failed to register a score.

From the start Doncaster imposed themselves on the Titans. Within 2 minutes following a powerful drive, which saw the hosts rumble in excess of 40 metres up to the Titans line, Michael Heaney broke before subsequently back rower Alex Shaw barged over for the first score.

Heaney was in the thick of the action again shortly after, when following more impressive work from the Knights pack he picked up from the base to snipe over for his sides second score on 11 minutes.

Rotherham managed to steady the ship somewhat and enjoyed a period of possession, but all too often found penetrating the hosts defence a difficult challenge.

Doncaster eventually bounced back and in between two Simon Humberstone penalties, centre Andy Bulumakau raced over for Knights third dot down to send his side in at the break 25-0 to the good.

The second period saw the hosts continue to pressure Rotherham from the start and five minutes in they secured the bonus point try when fly half Simon Humberstone weaved his way over the whitewash.

Before the hour mark Knights extended their advantage when Andy Bulumakau raced over for his second try and to round off a disappointing derby afternoon for Rotherham, Junior Bulumakau added a sixth try in added time.

Reflecting post-match Rotherham’s Andy Key said, "We need to have faith in what we're trying to do will bring success," adding, "We proved that in pre-season against some good sides.

"Against Doncaster we stood off a bit at times when we needed to pile in. We were waiting to see what happens rather than reacting beforehand and as a result too many times we found ourselves on the back foot and it became tough work.

"Then in the second half we started to pick up two or three injuries and make replacements we might not have wanted to do at that particular time, but that's the game.

"Our set piece scrum continues to go OK but our lineout struggled a bit. We missed some first-up tackles which put us on the back foot.

"It wasn't good enough by any stretch of the imagination. We allowed Doncaster to dictate the contact area, there were too many turnovers and silly mistakes in crucial areas, whether under pressure or when we were starting to create it. We went through three or four phases at times and then all of a sudden we go and make mistakes. 

"I do think there is a lot more about our team than the score line suggests but if we continue (in that way) then other sides will think they can do us just on frailty."

"I take my hat off to Jake Henry. I thought he stood up and really showed exactly what was required, either on the front carrying or in defence and credit to the lad."

Referee: Ian Tempest

Attendance: 1,389

Yellow Card: None

Titans:

Doncaster: Andy Bulumakau (2T), Shaw (T), Heaney (T), Junior Bulumakau (T), Humberstone (T, 2P, 3C), Cusack (1C)

Titans: 15 Will Thomas, 14 Jake Henry, 13 Luke Peters, 12 Joe Barker (Loizias 61), 11 Drew Cheshire, 10 Lee Millar, 9 Rhodri Davies, 1 Toby Williams (Lasis 78 HIA), 2 Luke Cole (Murphy 54), 3 Matt Shields (Foster 66), 4 James Lasis (A Peters 45), 5 Byron Hodge, 6 Dan Grange, 7 Tom Calladine (Capt.) (Tom Williams 66), 8 Ifereimi Boladau (Burns 53).

Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Tom Williams, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Adam Peters, 20 Tom Burns, 21 Francisco Vieira, 22 Yiannis Loizias.

Doncaster Knights: 15 Charlie Foley, 14 Junior Bulumakau, 13 Andy Bulumakau, 12 Will Owen, 11 Tyson Lewis, 10 Simon Humberstone (Cusack 59), 9 Michael Heaney (James 54), 1 Richard List (Bergmanas 50), 2 Ben Hunter (Nelson 58), 3 Colin Quigley (Sproston 69), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Tom Hicks (Eames 55), 6 Alex Shaw, 7 Michael Hills (Capt.), 8 Aaron Carpenter (Hill 54).

Replacements: 16 David Nelson, 17 Jack Bergmanas, 18 Joe Sproston, 19 Morgan Eames, 20 Jason Hill, 21 Tom James, 22 Declan Cusack.

Titans 10 Nottingham 46

Titans suffer opening day defeat

Rotherham Titans began their Greene King Championship campaign with a disappointing home defeat as they went down 46-10 to a highly-competitive Nottingham side.

Although deserved winners, the score line slightly flattered the visitors as Rotherham made a couple of silly mistakes to gift the Green & Whites two tries.

Indeed Rotherham enjoyed the better of the first 30 minutes as they led 10-5 following a superb Drew Cheshire try, with fly half Lee Millar adding a penalty and a conversion to Nottingham’s Ben Brownlie touchdown on 16 minutes.

Unfortunately for the hosts on 34 minutes, a miss-pass on their own line resulted in Tiff Eden collecting to dive over for an easy try. He then he dusted himself down to knock over the extras to nudge Nottingham ahead and before half time arrived Eden added to his tally with a neatly taken drop goal and with the last kick of the half he slotted over a penalty to send the visitors in with an 18-10 lead.

Despite Titans best endeavours, which were full of spirit and effort in the second half; it was Nottingham who demonstrated what a good side they are by running in four converted tries, as the Titans were unable to add to their score.

Former Titans Ben Morris and Sean Scanlon would have enjoyed crossing the whitewash; Ben Brownlie’s second try was sandwiched in between and replacement front rower Jacob Farnworth put the cherry on top late on as he scored Nottingham’s sixth try of the match.

Commenting afterwards Titans Andy Key said, “It’s certainly not the result we were looking for by any stretch, but I do think there were a lot of positives that we can take from the game. Certainly the way we attacked at times as we got ourselves onto the front foot, but I have to take my hat off to Nottingham as they have a very organised defence.

“In this modern game, if you get your defence right you are part way to winning games and I think that’s where we came a little bit unstuck today. Nottingham’s defence and energy levels in stopping us I thought was the decider.

“We put ourselves under unnecessary pressure by trying things when probably we shouldn’t have done. We gave them two silly tries, one in each half; so when you’re doing that and making some mistakes you’re not helping yourself.

“We are a young side and we’re only into our fourth game including pre-season and I know the boys are really disappointed; I think our energy levels and our fitness levels show there is more to come. A few things here and there can be the difference between the game being a lot closer than what it was today.”

Referee: Michael Hudson

Attendance: 1,017

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Cheshire (T), Millar (P, C)

Nottingham: Brownlie (2T), Morris (T), Scanlon (T), Farnworth (T), Eden (T, P, 5C, D-G)

Titans: 15 Will Thomas, 14 Yiannis Loizias (Henry 62), 13 Luke Peters, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Drew Cheshire, 10 Lee Millar, 9 Rhodri Davies (Vieira 68), 1 Toby Williams (Tom Williams 62), 2 Luke Cole (Maddison 59), 3 Matt Shields (Foster 59), 4 Rob Louw (Lasis 30), 5 Byron Hodge, 6 Dan Grange (Burns 68), 7 Tom Calladine (Capt.), 8 Ifereimi Boladau.

Replacements: 16 Charlie Maddison, 17 Tom Williams, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 James Lasis, 20 Tom Burns, 21 Francisco Vieira, 22 Jake Henry.

Nottingham: 15 Sean Scanlon, 14 Billy Robinson, 13 Oli Evans, 12 Gearoid Lyons (Hakalo 60), 11 Jack Spittle, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Murray McConnell (Veenendaal 54), 1 Tom West (Sio 57), 2 Ben Brownlie (Farnworth 62), 3 Ben Hooper (Burke 24), 4 Tom Holmes (Everard 57), 5 Danny Qualter, 6 Ben Morris (Capt.), 7 Jordan Coghlan, 8 Josh Poullet (Buckley 40).

Replacements: 16 Jacob Farnworth, 17 Aniseko Sio, 18 Rory Burke, 19 Shane Buckley, 20 Matt Everard, 21 Darryl Veenendaal, 22 Vili Hakalo.