Tynedale 19 Titans 33

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their 33-19 win over Tynedale on a drizzly afternoon at Station Road.

The win keeps Titans unbeaten start to the season in tact as they shared 6 tries in a competitive clash in the North East.

Roth’s 3 tries came from skipper Zak Poole, winger Dan Rundle and hooker Luke Cole, with Lloyd Hayes adding 18 points from the tee.

Hayes’s match tally saw him go past 500 points for the club; it’s a notable achievement and he’s to be congratulated for his outstanding effort.

The match itself saw Roth charge out of the blocks and race into a 13-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes, following a sniping try up the blindside from Zak Poole and two penalties from the reliable boot of Lloyd Hayes.

Indeed the first 30 minutes saw the South Yorkshire side totally dominate and had they taken all the opportunities created, the game would have been done and dusted by that point.

However, credit to Tynedale, as after keeping Roth out in what must have felt like the Alamo at times, their reward came when the momentum of the game shifted in the final 10 minutes of the half.

Two tries from lively winger Ben Riley, one converted by Josh Leslie reduced the home side’s deficit to 13-12.

However, during the half time interval Rotherham reset and regathered focus on the job in hand.

The second 40 minutes saw them again dominate throughout, particularly with their pack holding the upper hand.

Following two more penalties from Hayes, Roth’s Dan Rundle, a former Tynedale player, stretched the lead further when he collected on the left wing and raced through for a nice score.

Five minutes from time Rotherham sealed the game when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of a driving maul.

Disappointingly for Roth however, a lapse of concentration from the restart allowed centre Joe Lilley to go over for a smart try.

And whilst Rotherham did go in search for the bonus point Tynedale managed to keep them at bay.

Nevertheless, five wins from 5 games see Roth sit nicely in second place just 2 points behind league leaders Leeds Tykes.

Attention will now turn to the weekend and the challenge that top-end side Fylde will bring to Clifton Lane.

Speaking after the match Titans head coach, Gary Pearce, said:

“It’s always tough up here; they brought a couple of quality players back in this week and we are delighted to have got the win.

“I thought our lads came out really strong in the first 25 minutes and then we got on the wrong side of the referee and he gave them a few decisions which led to good field position for them and they took advantage of that.

“We addressed that at half time and to be fair to our lads we dominated the second half and we are a bit disappointed to have not come away with the bonus point.

“We left a few points out there, but overall I’m really pleased to come away from home and remain unbeaten and we now move on.”

Referee: Nathan Howarth

Attendance: 385

Yellow Card: Milner & Challinor (Titans), Milner (Tynedale)

Titans: Poole (T), Rundle (T), Cole (T), Hayes (3C, 4P)

Tynedale: Riley (2T), Lilley (T), Leslie (1C), Rodgers (1C)

Titans: 15 Lloyd Hayes, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Tomasi Tanumi (Townend 44), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Tanumi 68), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 30) (Capps 66), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 44), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 30) (Denman 66), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Rupert Kay (Okafor 39), 7 Laurence Cowen-leak (Kay 68), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 19 John Okafor, 20 Jack Townend.  

Tynedale: 15 Rob Parker, 14 Ben Riley, 13 Joe Lilley, 12 Will Milner, 11 Seamus Hutton, 10 Josh Leslie (Rodgers 59), 9 James Telford (Douglas 54), 1 Angus White (Rewcastle 56), 2 Louis Frankland (Oliver 70), 3 Oscar Caudle (Haigh 39) (Caudle 63), 4 Chris Wearmouth (Capt.), 5 Will Nankivell, 6 Graeme Dunn, 7 Jacob Oliver (Wainwright 51), 8 Joe Hanning.

Replacements: 16 Micky Rewcastle, 17 Ben Haigh, 18 Henry Wainwright, 22 Ben Douglas, 20 Jake Rodgers.

Titans 43 Huddersfield 15

Rotherham Titans made it 4 wins on the spin as they out-muscled a physical Huddersfield outfit 43-15 on a warm, but windy afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Roth outscored their Yorkshire rivals by 6 tries to 2, with Luke Cole, Loma Kivalu, Harry Dunne, Zak Poole, Kareem Eissa and Jack Taylor all going over, whilst Will Milner added 13 points from the tee.

In a typically gritty and full-blooded Yorkshire derby, Rotherham had to match the intensity of the visitors to earn the right to eventually ease away in the second half.

Indeed it was Field who set the tempo at the start and nosed ahead inside 5 minutes with a George Collins penalty.

Roth levelled soon after with a Will Milner penalty and then went ahead when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of a maul.

However, a spirited Field outfit were up for a battle and midway through the half, after some hard yards were made by the forwards, the ball was fed out across the line for winger Fin Stewart to score in the corner.

The game had an edge about it as both sides looked to secure the upper hand and gain dominance.

Eventually the arm wrestle was won by the Titans as they met the challenge head on.

This resulted in two quick fire tries late in the half, as firstly prop forward Loma Kivalu broke the line and galloped home from 20 meters, before in time added on a lovely long miss-pass from JB Bruzulier enabled Harry Dunne to go over in the corner.

The second half, whilst competitive, saw the home side ease away as they added a further 3 scores.

Before the hour mark the game was effectively wrapped up and the bonus point sealed when skipper Zak Poole barged his way over next to the sticks.

The Roth wingers then got in on the act as Kareem Eissa dotted down in the left corner following a skilful offload in contact from Jack Townend, before the full back then sent in Jack Taylor in the opposite corner.

Just as it appeared Huddersfield would be nilled in the second half, Ed Barber popped up in injury time to avert that disappointment.

Overall Rotherham will be delighted to have overcome such a rugged outfit as Huddersfield and to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

The focus will quickly shift now onto the next game and another tough challenge away at Tynedale.

Speaking after the match Roth’s head coach, Gary Pearce said:

“Huddersfield came here with a bit of physicality, but our lads got stuck in and we played some good rugby as well.

“I don’t think the scoreline reflects the game, I think we left a few points out there; but we were after a performance and I think we got a high-tempo one from the lads, particularly in the second half. I was really pleased with the lads.

“Huddersfield looked to take us on up front and I think that suited us; we always come through at the end. We were the dominant side and our defence was strong, I think we’ve taken a step forward today against probably the toughest opposition we’ve faced this year.

“You have to give them credit, they fronted up well; they’re a big, heavy bunch and they gave us a good contest.

“I was pleased with all our lads today, we showed a bit of spirit, a bit of heart and a bit of commitment and we played at a higher tempo which is much better for us.

“We’ll now switch our focus onto Tynedale; it’s always a tough place to go. They’ve not had the greatest start to the season, but at home they always make it difficult for the opposition.

“But we’ll just concentrate on ourselves and on our own preparations and we look forward to the challenge next week.”

Referee: Peter Connor

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Eissa (Titans), Barber (Huddersfield)

Titans: Cole (T), Kivalu (T), Dunne (T), Poole (T), Eissa (T), Taylor (T), Milner (5C, 1P)

Huddersfield: Fin Stewart (T), Barber (T), Collins (1C, 1P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle (Eissa 59), 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Rundle 71), 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 26) (Capps 49), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 46), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 26) (Ward 73), 4 Matt Challinor (Cole78), 5 Matt Smith, 6 Marcus Payne (Allan 46), 7 Rupert Kay (Payne 71), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 3 Gareth Denman, 27 Lewis Allan, 20 Kareem Eissa.  

Huddersfield: 15 Kian Stewart (Nicholson 63), 14 Fin Stewart, 13 Lewis Workman, 12 Ed Barber, 11 Max Horsfall, 10 George Collins, 22 Josh Walker, 1 Callum Thompson (Capt.) (Rollins 51), 2 Ethan Myers (Moore 57), 3 Harry Whitfield (Rollins 26) (Whitfield 40), 4 Alex Dawson (Haywood 19) (Dawson 26), 5 Thiu Barnard (Myers 68), 6 Lewis Quinn, 7 Ross Thornton, 8 Billy Hammond (Haywood 51).

Replacements: 16 Andy Rollins, 17 Harry Moore, 18 Kieran Nicholson, 19 Tom Haywood, 9 Simon Wilson.

Titans 33 Lymm 10

Rotherham Titans beat a spirited Lymm side 33-10 in a stop-start game on a windy afternoon at Clifton Lane which keeps them unbeaten after three games.

Titans’ tries came via JB Bruzulier, Zak Poole, Reece Ward, Dan Rundle and Laurence Cowan-Leak, with Lloyd Hayes adding 6 points from the tee and Will Milner 2.

It wasn’t the Titans at their best, but when you’re having an off-day if you end up winning with the bonus point, that as they say in Yorkshire – “Will do.”

Rotherham to be fair pretty much dominated throughout the game and got the board ticking on 12 minutes when scrum half JB Bruzulier sold a dummy close to the posts before diving over.

Lymm’s Cormac Nolan did notch a 3-pointer to reduce his side’s arrears, before Titans skipper Zak Poole scored a nice try in the corner after peeling round the blindside from a line out.

Before the break prop forward Reece Ward powered over following more impressive work from the Titans pack.

Two minutes into the second half Dan Rundle wrapped up the bonus point when he dotted down in the corner after receiving a crisp pass from Bruzulier.

Before the hour mark Roth extended their advantage when Cowan-Leak scored after more good work from the pack, which saw Lymm bullied off their own scrum close to the line.

However, rather than the home side going on to rack up a notable score in the final quarter, the only points scored from thereon came when Lymm’s Cal Morris touch down after some smart work from the scrum half.

Rotherham will now focus on preparing for the visit of Huddersfield to Clifton Lane on Saturday, where they will hope a more polished performance can be achieved.

Speaking after the game Titans head coach, Gary Pearce, said:

“I’m a bit disappointed to be honest, I thought we were a bit off at times, but you also have to give Lymm some credit because they tackled well and they got stuck in.

“But we had a lack of control with the ball at times and that was a bit disappointing; but we got the 5 points and the lads are entitled to have an off-day.

“Although we scored five tries, it could have been ten; but we’re only three games in and I’m sure our performances will improve.”

Referee: Gavin Jones

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Bruzulier (T), Poole (T), Ward (T), Rundle (T), Cowan-Leak (T), Hayes (3C), Milner (1C)

Lymm: Morris (T), Nolan (P, C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes (Eissa 48), 12 Harry Dunne (Payne 76), 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Alex Pleasants (Capps 27), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 48), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 33) (Denman 52) (Ward 76), 19 John Okafor (Challinor 33), 5 Matt Smith, 6 Marcus Payne (Okafor 52), 7 Laurence Cowan-Leak, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Charlie Capps, 30 Reece Ward, 4 Matt Challinor, 20 Kareem Eissa.  

Lymm: 15 Cormac Nolan, 14 Joe Senior (Jennings 78), 13 Stephen Pilkington, 12 James Kimber (Reynolds 71), 11 Paddy Jennings (Stride 61), 22 Jack Reynolds (Shard 54), 9 Cal Morris, 17 Gav Woods (Higgins 52) (Woods 71), 2 James Pitcher (Stewart 67), 3 Matthew Hand (Widdrington 33) (Hand 52), 4 James Yates (Capt.), 5 Ali Sutherland, 6 Sean Callender, 7 Joshua Hadland, 8 Rhys Lilly.

Replacements: 24 Jordan Widdrington, 16 Joe Higgins, 18 Alex Stewart, 19 Tom Shard, 20 Jack Stride.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Wharfedale 19 Titans 34

Rotherham Titans recovered from a 14-3 half time deficit to stun Wharfedale 34-19 on a roasting hot afternoon at The Avenue.

Both sides scored 3 tries each with Rotherham’s dot downs coming from Matt Challinor, Jack Townend and Harry Dunne; Lloyd Hayes added 19 points from the tea.

On a sapping-hot afternoon it was the home side that scored first after just 3 minutes, when despite their scrum going backwards apace they managed to get the ball out and break quickly, allowing centre James Coulton to go in under the sticks.

Lloyd Hayes got Roth on the board soon after with a penalty, but Wharfedale extended their lead before the half hour mark to 14-3 when second rower Elliot Stockton crashed over following a period of forward pressure close to the line.

Roth had lots of possession during the first half but a combination of errors on their part and resilient defending by Wharfedale ensured they wouldn’t add to their tally.

No doubt during the half time oranges there would have been some stern words spoken in the Roth dressing room.

The second period saw a rejuvenated South Yorkshire side and with the benefit of the slope it took only 8 minutes for Roth to get their first try through Matt Challinor, after a number of pick-and-goes close to the line. Hayes’ conversion made it 14-10.

Titans’ confidence was boosted by their success and they enjoyed long periods of possession which provided some dominance in the game.

During this spell Lloyd Hayes demonstrated his accurate kicking skills by adding a further 3 penalties before full back Jack Townend showed good pace to cut through for an important try. Hayes converted the try and five minutes from time slotted a fifth penalty to effectively seal the game.

However, in injury time there was still time for each side to add a third try.

Replacement back Omari Kaup-Samuels showed great pace to dot down for the home side, whilst in the final play Titans’ Harry Dunne popped up on the right wing to touch down in the corner after collecting from Matt Challinor.

Titans will have been delighted to secure the win at such a difficult place as Wharfedale and they will now switch their focus to the visit of Lymm to Clifton Lane this week.

Speaking after the match Titans’ head coach, Gary Pearce, said:

“We were very good in the second half, we were very powerful and we looked like we’d got loads of energy left in us at the end.

“Our fitness was good; our bench was good and they made a significant impact when they went on and upped the tempo and that’s what you want to see.

“It was tough up the slope in the first half; we were a bit disappointed with some of the points we conceded and even more so with the chances we created but didn’t take; we could have gone in at half time with the lead.

“But this is what happens when you come to places like Wharfedale, they are a dogged side and they make it hard for you and we knew that was going to be the case.

“I thought the lads played well in the second half; Laurence carried really well, John Okafor did the same when he came on and everyone in the front row was outstanding.

“JB had a good game and put us in some really good positions with his kicking and so overall we are really pleased with the outcome.”

Referee: Jack Moorhouse

Attendance: 525

Yellow Card: Gaudie (Wharfedale)

Titans: Challinor (T), Townend (T), Dunne (T), Hayes (2C, 5P)

Wharfedale: Coulton (T), Stockton (T), Kaup-Samuels (T), Davidson (2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend (Bustin 76), 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 28 Callum Bustin (Dunne 30), 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 27) (Capps 74), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 36), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 27) (Denman 61), 27 Matt Challinor (Okafor 51), 5 Matt Smith, 6 Rupert Kay (Challinor 61), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Bergmanas 74), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 25 John Okafor, 12 Harry Dunne.

Wharfedale: 15 Ryan Hodgson, 14 Rob Davidson (Mallinson 40), 17 James Coulton, 12 Oliver Cicognini, 11 Beau Verity (Omari Kaup-Samuels 23), 10 Louis Verity, 9 Sam Gaudie, 16 Sam Dickinson (Collinson 67) (Armstrong 71), 2 Robbie Collinson (Beesley 52), 3 Jake Armstrong (Altham 48), 4 Elliot Stockton, 5 George Hedgley (Capt.), 6 Jack Pinder (Green 27), 7 Ben Markey (Pinder 55), 8 Rob Baldwin (Markey 68).

Replacements: 23 George Altham, 17 Matt Beesley, 18 Rhys Green, 19 Omari Kaup-Samuels, 20 Toby Mallinson. 

Titans 52 Billingham 24

Rotherham Titans began their season in style as they outscored new boys to the division Billingham by 52-24 on a warm and sunny afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ eight tries came via Rupert Kay, Laurence Cowen-Leak, Jack Townend, Jack Bergmanas, Luke Cole, Tomasi Tanumi and a brace for Lloyd Hayes who also added 12 points from the tee.

It took Rotherham just 3 minutes to score their first points of the season, when flanker Rupert Kay collected a nice popped-pass from Jack Bergmanas before breaking through to side-step the fullback to dot down under the sticks.

Billingham however responded quickly and within 6 minutes scored a penalty and then went into the lead when centre Luke Wilson intercepted inside his own 22 and proceeded to gallop the length of the pitch to score.

With their enthusiasm in tact Rotherham mounted a blitz which saw them score three tries inside a 6-minute spell to give them a 28-10 lead and secure the try bonus point.

Firstly Laurence Cowen-Leak showed his power to smash his way over; he was followed by full back Jack Townend who finished off nicely after Lloyd Hayes had ghosted his way through the defence and hooker Jack Bergmanas dotted down from a catch and drive.

Again though Billingham demonstrated their eagerness to not roll over and they too scored a couple of quick tries before the half hour mark.

Fly half Peter Evans skilfully chipped through for Luke Wilson to collect for his second try under the posts and then adventurously from deep inside their own half Billingham played the ball across the backline allowing winger Joe Ross to race home from 60 metres.

The two quick-fire tries narrowed the visitor’s deficit to 28-24 and the possibility of a shock opening-day win was becoming a possibility. However, those points would be the last scored by Billingham!

Either side of half time Lloyd Hayes showed his class with a brace of dot downs to calm the home side’s nerves and two more tries were added when Luke Cole touched down from the tail of a maul and Gareth Denman found Tomasi Tanumi as an extra man out wide to finish things off.

All in all it was a good opening day effort from Rotherham and whilst there will always be things to work on, scoring 8 tries and 50 points is never considered a bad day at the office.

Speaking after the game Titans head coach, Gary Pearce, said:

“I think at times we got lulled in to trying to play a bit too much rugby and we made a too many errors for my liking, but we scored lots of tries, put 50 points on them and nilled them in the second half, so it’s not all bad.

“We were disappointed to give them some of their points because we are better than that, but credit to Billingham they never stopped coming at us.

“We scored some entertaining tries ourselves and we got the five points and that’s the main thing.

“We know next week at Wharfedale will be a different test; it’s always one of the toughest places to go and try and get a result and we’ll give them our upmost respect.”

Referee: Dave Charlton

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: K Clark (Billingham)

Titans: Kay (T), Cowen-Leak (T), Townend (T), Bergmanas (T), Cole (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (2T, 6C),

Billingham: Wilson (2T), Ross (T), Evans (P, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Harry Dunne (Milner 49), 28 Callum Bustin (Cowen-Leak 71), 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 JB Bruzulier (Eissa 63), 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 68), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 49), 3 Gareth Denman (Kivalu 40), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith (Dunne 65), 6 Rupert Kay (Okafor 40), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Kay 66), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 25 John Okafor, 19 Kareem Eissa, 20 Will Milner.  

Billingham: 15 Elliott Husband (Capt.), 14 Joe Ross, 13 Peter Youll (Groark 59), 12 Luke Wilson, 11 Jonny Horner, 10 Peter Evans, 9 Connor Foley (Heron 57), 1 Adam Brown (Clark 68), 2 Jordan Foulds (Graham 65), 3 Kieran Clark (Spoors 57), 4 Ben Walton, 5 Mike Walton, 6 Tom Campbell (Burns 49), 7 John Padley (Campbell 63), 8 Anthony Jackson.

Replacements: 16 Ed Graham, 17 Joe Spoors, 18 Dan Burns, 19 Sam Heron, 20 Louie Groark. 

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons