Birmingham Moseley 28 Titans 22

Rotherham’s high error count and a lack of discipline saw them fall to a disappointing 28-22 defeat against a rugged Birmingham Moseley side at a wet and windy Billesley Common.

Rotherham did however collect a bonus point for their 6 point loss and will look to get back to winning ways this week at home to Sale FC.

There were periods where Rotherham looked the better side, but a lack of discipline ultimately lead to their downfall, as Moseley cashed in with four driving maul tries through hooker Adam Caves.

Titans actually made a bright opening and quickly raced into a 10-0 lead following a Dan Leake try and a penalty and conversion from Alex Dolly.

However, Moseley’s pack of forwards reduced the arrears on 12 minutes when hooker Adam Caves crashed over from the tail of a maul close to the line.

Titans’ Dolly and Moseley’s James Williams then traded penalties before Caves bulldozed his way over again to level the scores at 13 apiece.

The game began to form a pattern where Rotherham tried to play some rugby, whilst the home side appeared to be content with their pack keeping the ball close as they rumbled around the park.

Three minutes before the break Dolly added his third penalty for Rotherham from in front of the sticks as Moseley’s slow retreat saw them pinned for being offside.

However, the final play of the half saw Caves secure his hat trick try from another driving maul close to the Titans line to send the hosts in at the break 18-16 to the good.

With the game finely balanced the first score of the second period would be vital; unfortunately for Rotherham Adam Caves scored his fourth try of the game from a maul just two minutes in, with Williams adding the conversion to stretch the home sides lead to 25-16.

To be fair Rotherham never stopped working hard as they tried to claw their way back into the game and this they did when either side of the hour mark Alex Dolly struck two fine penalties to reduce the arrears to 25-22 with 14 minutes remaining.

Both sides defended well in the final quarter as each team pushed for victory. However, in the final play of the game Moseley won a penalty at a scrum inside the Titans 22 and Williams nailed the conversion to end matters.

Commenting post-game Titans Joe Barker explained, “It was a disappointing result and there’s no doubt about that, but other than in the driving mauls I thought we were defensively strong. The only way they got into our half was through our poor discipline and our errors. We gave away far too many penalties which gave them field position and they used their maul to good effect.

“I think our decision makers, our 9, 10 and 15 controlled our kicking game very well and I think we dominated both halves in terms of that.

“However, if you can’t hold your discipline, scrums and mauls then you are going to find it hard to win games of rugby and these are areas that we have to sort out.

“It wasn’t a game for the purists and the weather conditions didn’t make it easy for either side. We have a young squad here, but they’re going to have to learn and learn quickly and we are going to have to sort it out at training.

“More than half the tries we have conceded this season have come via the driving maul and that’s an area we obviously need to sort out. We knew coming into the game we had a light back five as all four of our second rows are injured. But I can’t complain in terms of the boy’s effort, but sometimes weight wins when you’re in the row.”

Referee: Matt Turvey

Attendance: 736

Yellow Card: Baffour-Awuah (Moseley)

Titans: Leake (T), Dolly (5P, 1C)

Birmingham Moseley: Caves (4T), Williams (2P, 1C)

Titans: 15 Alex Dolly, 14 Dan Leake (Cooke 34), 13 Harry Dunne, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Henry Roberts, 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Jack Bergmanas (Richardson 53), 2 Ali Thomson, 3 Rikki Stout (Dickinson 63), 4 Anton Petrowitsch, 5 Tom Cotterill (Preston-Routledge 63), 6 Luis Ball, 7 Zak Poole, 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Dan Richardson, 17 Antony Dickinson, 18 Will Dennis, 19 Dan Preston-Routledge, 20 Jamie Cooke.

Birmingham Moseley: 15 Sam Hollingsworth, 14 Charles Baffour-Awuah, 13 Oliver Allsopp, 12 Sam Hayward, 11 Sam Atkin, 10, James Williams, 9 Rob Lewis (Capt.) (Pointon 61), 1 Tom Fidler (Tyack 76), 2 Adam Caves, 3 Jay Tyack (Boyce 60), 4 Buster Lawrence, 5 Lewis Bean, 6 Laurence Cowen, 7 Josh Poole, 8 Chris Brightwell (Le Roux 61).

Replacements: 16 Jamie White, 17 Jonah Boyce, 18 Jacques Le Roux, 19 Sam Smith, 20 Sam Pointon.

Titans 29 Rosslyn Park 12

Rotherham Titans secured their first National League 1 win of the season as they deservedly ran out 29-12 winners over Rosslyn Park at Clifton Lane.

Titans put in an overall impressive performance, but it was full back Alex Dolly who caught the eye as he bagged 8 successful penalty kicks, to add to an early try from winger Henry Roberts.

Park’s points came way of a try in either half from back rowers Hugo Ellis and Arthur Ellis, with former Titan Greg Lound converting the former from out wide.

Titans might have been concerned early on when inside 2 minutes the visitors stormed into the lead from a catch and drive which saw Hugo Ellis barge over for a dot down.

However, just 5 minutes later and Rotherham crossed the whitewash themselves when winger Henry Roberts showed superb strength to power his way over the line from inside the 22 to touch down in the left corner.

Titans controlled much of what followed and almost had their second try on 18 minutes from a superb break by Seb Nagle-Taylor. Unfortunately the number 8 was dragged down a metre short and although he attempted to release the ball and go again, the referee pinned him and subsequently Nagle-Taylor spent 10 minutes in the bin.

Titans added two penalties before the break through Alex Dolly, which sent the home side in at the break 11-7 to the good.

Rotherham were keen to score the first points of the second half and this they did through Dolly’s third penalty of the game to stretch the lead to 7 points.

However, Park bounced back and on 54 minutes another catch and drive close to the Titans line resulted in flanker Arthur Ellis dotting down for his sides second try of the game. Lound’s conversion drifted just wide of the posts to leave his side 2 points adrift.

As the game progressed it was Rotherham who managed the game more effectively and as the pressure mounted on the visitors they yielded a relentless stream of penalties.

Inside the final 18 minutes Park gave away 5 penalties from all over the field and Alex Dolly stepped up on each occasion to conduct a masterclass of kicking from the tee to nail the lot and give Rotherham a worthy first win of the campaign.

Speaking immediately post-match, Titans head coach, Joe Barker, explained, “I knew our first win was just around the corner and what we did really well today was we stuck to our process of how we were going to play.

“In our first two games we were in those games for a period of time, but we made mistakes and went away from what we wanted to do, but today fair play to the lads they really stuck with it today.

“We asked them to play a certain plan and they stuck to it for the full 80 minutes and that’s why we were relentless and ruthless with our approach all game long.

“I was also pleased with our defence, our positivity and our motivation. We know we have good players here and I believe we are a good team and I think we showed that today in beating a good Rosslyn Park side.”

Referee: Matt Turvey

Attendance: 513

Yellow Card: Nagle-Taylor (Titans)

Titans: Roberts (T), Dolly (8P)

Rosslyn Park: H Ellis (T), A Ellis (T), Lound (1C)

Titans: 15 Alex Dolly, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Harry Dunne, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Henry Roberts, 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Connor Dever (Davey 77), 1 Jack Bergmanas, 2 Ali Thomson, 3 Rikki Stout, 4 Anton Petrowitsch, 5 Conor Keys (Preston-Routledge 58), 6 Luis Ball, 7 Zak Poole, 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt).

Replacements: 16 Dan Richardson, 17 Antony Dickinson, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Harry Davey, 20 Jamie Cooke.

Rosslyn Park: 15 Henry Robinson, 14 Bam Fadahunsi, 13 Nicolas Nieto (Barnes 51), 12 Jordon Turner-Hall, 11 Neville Edwards, 10 Greg Lound, 9 Oli Grove, 1 Maurice Nwakor, 2 Tom Vaughan-Edwards (Hughes 65), 3 Paul Doran-Jones (Lovell 60), 4 Jonathan Mills, 5 Gregor Gillanders (Barnard 54), 6 Adam Frampton, 7 Arthur Ellis (Vaughan-Edwards 79), 8 Hugo Ellis (Gillanders 58).

Replacements: 16 Owen Hughes, 17 Nick Lovell, 18 Jack Barnard, 19 Aaron Booth, 20 Dan Barnes.

Darlington Mowden Park 42 Titans 19

Titans’ first away trip of the season ended in disappointment as they went down 42-19 to pre-season favourites Darlington Mowden Park at the Northern Echo Arena.

The hosts deserved their victory as they ran in six tries to Titans three, although the scoreboard has a slightly flattering look to it, as Rotherham felt they were in the game more than the board would suggest.

Rotherham applied pressure on the hosts late on as they went in search of the four try bonus point, however Mowden Park’s defence held firm to deny Rotherham any spoils for their efforts.

Indeed Titans had much the better of the opening 20 minutes of the contest and had they taken the opportunities created, they would have opened up a healthy advantage. Alas for them they did not and the closest they came to opening up their account was a Callum Irvine drop goal effort on 13 minutes which bounced off the uprights.

As the half hour mark approached Mowden established some dominance which saw them score a brace of tries either side of the 30 minute mark through centre Ben Frankland and live-wire scrum half Bruno Bravo, both of which were converted by Warren Seals.

Just before the break Rotherham’s forward pack exerted huge pressure on Park’s line as they looked to cut the deficit on half time. Unfortunately for the Yorkshire side they were turned over and the opportunity was lost.

The second period started in similar fashion to the way the first had ended, as the hosts’ dominance saw them establish a stronghold on the game. As the hour mark was passed Park went over for their third try of the half through replacement Ben Stevenson, after Chris Georgiou and former Titan Talite Vaioleti had crossed the whitewash earlier. 

In between Titans got off the mark when replacement prop Dan Richardson showed good power to drive over from close to the line.

Ten minutes from time Rotherham secured further reward as they continued to battle on and not let their heads drop. Titans’ pack, which had put in a sterling shift all game, drove up to Park’s line before Richardson was on hand again to barrel over for his second try of the match.

Five minutes later and Titans hopes of securing a bonus point received a further boost when number 8, Seb Nagle-Taylor finished off another barnstorming forwards drive for his sides third try. Irvine drop goaled the conversion in an attempt to get the game restarted quickly.

Although Rotherham had some possession in the final stages, it was the hosts who brought the curtain down on the game as second rower Jake Brady smashed his way over for Park’s sixth dot down of the match. Seals conversion secured him a 100% success rate from the tee.

Commenting post match Titans head coach, Joe Barker, explained, “There were a lot of positives to build on, but I don’t want to keep saying that and we now need to start demonstrating our potential. The first 20 minutes we had them under massive pressure and I think they were shocked in how we were managing the game.

“Our kicking game was better and our set piece has improved a lot this week. I think Smithy, Jenks and Christian have done an outstanding job with the front five and the pack to get that set piece working and they fronted up today and you could see that with the tries we scored.

“I thought the bench also made a massive impact when we used it. They showed great intensity, tempo and physicality and they changed the way the game was played. 

“At times you can see what we are trying to do and we are nearly there, but today there were a few decisions made which proved to be wrong ones. I think that’s just a little bit of inexperience but that will come if we continue to work hard during the week.

“I really believe in this squad and I want our fans to be patient and continue to support the lads like they’ve done all along. It will take a bit of time but we will get there.”

Referee: Harry Walbaum
Attendance: 855
Yellow Card: Nott (Titans)
Titans: Richardson (2T), Nagle-Taylor (T), Irvine (2C)
Darlington Mowden Park: Frankland (T), Bravo (T), Georgiou (T), Vaioleti (T), Stevenson (T), Brady (T), Seals (6C)
 

Titans: 15 Harry Davey, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Ellis Abrahams (Field 58), 12 Joe Barker, 11 Connor Field (Dever 46), 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Josh Nott (Dunne 57), 1 Jack Bergmanas (Richardson H-T), 2 Ali Thomson, 3 Rikki Stout (Dickinson 49), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge (Keys 75), 5 Conor Keys (Petrowitsch 57), 6 Luis Ball, 7 Zak Poole, 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Dan Richardson, 17 Antony Dickinson, 18 Anton Petrowitsch, 19 Connor Dever, 20 Harry Dunne.

Darlington Mowden Park: 15 Chris Georgiou, 14 Josh Hall (McTurk 66), 13 Jordy Hop, 12 Ben Frankland, 11 Ollie Walker (Stevenson 46) (Walker 72), 10 Warren Seals, 9 Bruno Bravo, 1 Alfie Barron (Harvey 66), 2 Jordon Poole, 3 Ralph Appleby (Darkintis 57), 4 Jake Brady, 5 Talite Vaioleti (Appleby 72), 6 Joe Duffy, 7 George Stokes, 8 Joe Craggs.

Replacements: 16 Ignas Darkintis, 17 Anthony Harvey, 18 Garry Law, 19 Ben Stevenson, 20 Chris McTurk.

Titans 33 Old Elthamians 34

Rotherham Titans started their National League 1 campaign with a heart-breaking 34-33 defeat to a much-fancied Old Elthamians side.

Titans out-scored their counterparts by 5 tries to 4 and collected 2 well-deserved bonus points for their efforts; however, poor starts to each half ultimately cost them dearly.

With just one player from last seasons’ Titans squad involved, it was always going to be a challenge to beat one of the divisions’ anticipated top sides, but they almost did and they can be content with their first competitive game together.

In particular Seb Nagle-Taylor who scored a hat trick, Tom Allott who chipped in with a brace of dot downs and fly half Callum Irvine who bossed the game effectively, all can be pleased with their first shift on the Clifton Lane pitch.

However, when the Titans trailed 10-0 after the opening 20 minutes, following a try from Dom McGeekie and a penalty and conversion from Tom White, the signs looked ominous for the home side.

Alleviating the distress, Titans eventually established a foothold in the game on 24 minutes when Captain Seb Nagle-Taylor barged over from close range for Ellis Abrahams to convert, which cut the deficit to 10-7.

Sloppy work at the set piece by Rotherham followed, which enabled the visitors to reinstate their 10 point advantage as winger Dom Lespierre breezed in for a dot down, with White added the extras.

On a balmy afternoon at the Lane Rotherham finally sprang in action and it was fly half Callum Irvine who proved to be the catalyst for 2 quick-fire tries just before half time.

A clever grubber kick from the former Carnegie man allowed Nagle-Taylor to collect nicely to dive over, before an outstanding 60 metre break downfield saw Irvine find Tom Allott in support to touch down under the sticks. Abrahams converted to send the home side in at the break 19-17 to the good.

The restart would be important and again Rotherham came up second best, just as they had done in the opening half. This time the visitors only needed 75 seconds to cross the whitewash as Hamish Barton finished under the posts a counter attack from Elthamians. White knocked over his third conversion from in front to give OE’s a 24-19 lead.

That lead was extended on 63 minutes when White knocked over a penalty and it was stretched further when back rower Harry Ledger secured a bonus point when he dotted down following a powerful maul close to the Titans line. White’s conversion widened the gap to 34-19.

What would have pleased the hierarchy at Clifton Lane was the resilience and character shown by the players to quickly come back with two converted tries of their own.

Full back Tom Allott collected nicely his own kick-through to score and that man Nagle-Taylor barged through to score his third try under the posts. Irvine successfully drop-kicked the conversion to get the game restarted.

If any team was going to score in the final moments of this thrilling encounter it was going to be the home side. However, a knock-on at the death signalled time and the home side had to be content with 2 points for their opening day efforts.

Post-game Titans head coach, Joe Barker, explained, “As a squad we are pretty new, we’ve only been together for 8 weeks and everyone knows in team sports it takes time for things to gel, especially in rugby union when you’ve got to get use to so many things from a technical standpoint.

“I think what we have achieved today makes me really proud of the lads and proud of Rotherham Rugby Club and what we have achieved over the summer in a very short space of time makes me happy that we could produce that kind of display in front of our own fans.

“Elthamians are a very good National 1 outfit and they have high ambitions for this season. They’ve been together for a long time and their aim is to get out of this league. On the back of our display I think we should be excited about where this group of players can take this club.

“I think as a group the lads put in a great shift, but I have to give a special mention to Seb Nagle-Taylor who put in a very destructive and powerful performance and Callum Irvine, who I thought bossed the game very well at 10 and who I thought showed his Championship experience.

“But overall as a team I thought we showed amazing character as we came back on numerous occasions in both halves. As a young group of lads I thought they showed great resilience and that gives us great confidence moving forward this season.”

Referee: Neil Chivers
Attendance: 579
Yellow Card: Ure (Titans)
Titans: Nagle-Taylor (3T), Allott (2T), Abrahams (3C), Irvine 1C)
Old Elthamians: McGeekie (T), Lespierre (T), Barton (T), Ledger (T), White (2P, 4C) 

Titans: 15 Tom Allott, 14 Henry Roberts, 13 Ellis Abrahams, 12 Joe Barker, 11 Connor Field, 10 Callum Irvine, 9 Josh Nott (Dolly 64), 1 Jack Bergmanas, 2 Ali Thomson, 3 Rikki Stout (Dickinson 74), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge (Ure 60), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Luis Ball, 7 Zak Poole (Petrowitsch 66), 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Dan Richardson, 17 Antony Dickinson, 18 Jamie Ure, 19 Anton Petrowitsch, 20 Alex Dolly.

Old Elthamians: 15 Ben Howard, 14 Dom Lespierre (McGeekie 74), 13 Kieran Moffat (Claxton 74), 12 Max Wilkins (Surman 35), 11 Alan Hotston (Morris 74), 10 Tom White, 9 Oliver Claxton (Morgan 60), 1 Alex Rogers (Scutt 67), 2 Nathan Morris (Rudland-Thomas 60), 3 Kieron Scutt (Brown 52), 4 Fred Hosking, 5 Dom McGeekie (Ledger 67), 6 Harry Ledger (Messum 54), 7 Hamish Barton, 8 Ben King.

Replacements: 16 Lewis Brown, 17 Jay Rudland-Thomas, 18 George Messum, 19 Rhys Morgan, 20 Chris Surman.