Titans 6 Richmond 23

Rotherham Titans suffered a disappointing 23-6 home defeat to Richmond at a wet and windy Clifton Lane.

Richmond, who were relegated from the Championship last term, managed the tricky conditions much the better and executed their simple game plan to great effect.

The London based outfit outscored the Titans by two tries to none, to maintain their position at the top of the league.

Rotherham now need to regroup ahead of their big local derby next weekend against Hull Ionians.

The wet conditions and heavy pitch probably suited the Richmond style more than it did Rotherham’s. However, as the game wore on the greater physicality shown by the league leaders ultimately saw them home to a comfortable victory.

Richmond’s experienced pack of forwards had the edge throughout, particularly so after opening the scoring on 12 minutes through loose head prop Alex Banfield, following a series of pick and drives inside the Titans 22. Full back Rob Kirby converted the dot down and added two further penalties during the first half.

Rotherham did have some bright moments in the first period, but all too often at crucial times poor decision making or poor execution, frustratingly let them down.

With the final play of the half however Rotherham put a spell of pressure together through their pack which had the visitors scrambling around in defence at sixes and sevens and although unable to cross the whitewash Rotherham did get on the board through a Sam Hollingsworth penalty.

Coming out for the second half Titans hopes were high that a comeback was on the cards, particularly with the gusty breeze now in their favour.

Those hopes received a further boost just five minutes in when another 3-pointer from Hollingsworth reduced Rotherham’s arrears to 13-6.

Unfortunately for the South Yorkshire side, that was about as good as it would get!

Last season’s Championship side showed their experience by slowly exerting control at the set piece and the breakdown, which in turn set the platform for what was to follow.

Richmond extended their lead on 50 minutes when a powerful catch and drive was finished off by hooker Ross Grimstone and converted by Kirby. The latter added a penalty two minutes later to stretch his side’s advantage to 23-6.

Although Titans would not score again, they do deserve some credit as they ensured neither would their opponents.

Commenting post-match a disappointed joint head coach, Matt Smith, explained, “It was a tough game against the league leaders and one of the key aspects for me was the amount of mistakes that we made compared to them. I think we both had similar game plans, but Richmond executed theirs better than we did.

“To be fair Richmond didn’t make too many errors; I didn’t think they did much, but they didn’t need to because our errors gave them enough opportunities.

“I thought at times we got ourselves into the right areas; in the first half we had a driving maul that got held up, but we came away with 3 points which was positive.

“In the second half on the couple of occasions that we got into their 22 we couldn’t turn that pressure into points and that’s probably the most disappointing aspect that we couldn’t turn our positive moments into points.

“The difference was when Richmond got into our 22 they did come away with points.

“We are very frustrated with how we performed, hopefully the boys can learn from today’s experience, how to see games out and how to suffocate teams, because that’s what Richmond did really well today.”

Referee: Charlie Gayther  

Attendance: 517

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Hollingsworth (2P)

Richmond: Banfield (T), Grimstone (T), Kirby (3P, 2C)

Titans: 15 George Castledine (Bunting 50), 14 Tom Bacon, 13 Connor Field, 12 Tom Bullough, 11 Ben Robbins, 10 Sam Hollingsworth, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Agustin Defelitto (Bergmanas 25), 3 Will Dennis (Whitfield 15), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge (Waddington 66), 5 Kieran Frost, 6 Alfie North (Ward 50), 7 Lewis Wilson, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Harry Whitfield, 18 Elliott Ward, 19 Ben Waddington, 20 Morgan Bunting.

Richmond: 15 Rob Kirby (Dennett 73), 14 Dan Kelly, 13 Cameron Mitchell (Capt.), 12 Giles Bromley-Martin, 11 Hamish Graham, 10 Tom Hodgson, 9 Jamie Gibbs (Dabell 64), 1 Alex Banfield (Green 72), 2 Ross Grimstone (Gibbings 69), 3 Ken Dowding, 4 Byron Hodge, 5 Max Crawford, 6 Jake Parker (Nixon 73), 7 Toby Saysell, 8 Jesse Liston.

Replacements: 16 Luke Green, 17 Charlie Gibbings, 18 Ryan Nixon, 19 Toby Dabell, 20 Lewis Dennett.

Chinnor 24 Titans 26

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding second half defensive shift to earn a hard-fought, but deserved 26-24 victory over a very good Chinnor outfit at Kingsey Road.

Rotherham have suffered three heartbreaking defeats this term by a single score, so it was sweet for them this time to get on the right end of a narrow result.

However, following a bright start from the hosts, which saw them cross the whitewash twice inside the first 16 minutes, the portents looked gloomy for the South Yorkshire outfit, although a 3-pointer from Sam Hollingsworth kept his side within touching distance at 10-3 and then 10-6 before the half hour mark with another successful effort from the tee.

Chinnor to be fair though did look the better side at this point and the Thame based outfit looked dangerous in attack, with former Titan Caolan Ryan particularly threatening with ball in hand.

There was a sense of inevitability the hosts would score next and this they did shortly after when centre Jason Worrall ran in for his side’s third try. Laurence May converted to extend Chinnor’s advantage to 17-6 and there was a concern the game could be over before half time.

Sensationally however, Titans responded just before the break with two brilliant tries in the space of a couple of minutes.

Firstly from a line out move off the top, the ball was fed out wide to winger Tom Bacon who showed a good turn of foot to race in for a fine score in the corner.

The Bacon got himself involved again almost immediately as he made good ground as he broke through, before drawing a tackle to send in Connor Field to score under the posts. Hollingsworth’s conversion from in front of the sticks incredibly gave Rotherham a 18-17 lead.

Disappointingly for them however in the final play of the half and following some intense pressure from the hosts, Jason Worrall ran in for his second and Chinnor’s fourth try of the game.

Titans came out for the second period with good intensity about them and they look far more menacing than they had previously.

Their lively opening efforts saw them pin Chinnor deep inside their own 22, before Rotherham fly half Sam Hollingsworth expertly put in a cross-field kick which resulted in Tom Bacon snaffling the ball to dot down for his second try of the game.

On 47 minutes Titans took the lead for the second time when Hollingsworth again proved successful from the tee, as he nosed his side 26-24 ahead.

Remarkably with over 30 minutes remaining there would be no further score!

The defensive effort which followed from Rotherham was of outstanding quality and physicality and it was during this period that the Titans boys earned the right to win this highly competitive encounter.

Speaking on the pitch afterwards, Titans Director of Rugby, Martin Jenkinson, explained, “This result is massively satisfying because these lads have put in a heck of a lot of work; at times the bounce of the ball has not gone with us, and you need that, and we’ve finished just on the wrong side.

“I’ve just been talking to the boys and the word I’ve used more than any other is character!

“That second half was all about character; our defensive sets were absolutely top drawer, we got off the line and we went and smashed them.

“They are a top-end team and a good side and we’ve come here and done the job in a very professional manner and we are all delighted with an absolutely outstanding win.

“I think today has shown that Rotherham are capable of getting results against the very best teams in this division. The standard in National 1 goes up year on year and we regard our squad and systems as good as anyone’s in the division and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t get more than our fair share of victories.

“It was a massive all round team effort, but I have to mention Toby Williams. Toby is a man of very few words, so when he does speak people start listening and he had some words to say at half time which completely transformed the game for us.

“On top of that we have to remember he did 80 minutes, Harry Newborn very nearly did 80 minutes and Harry Whitfield went on at tight head, even though he’s a loose head.

“We also have to mention Tom Bacon for a bit of brilliance towards the end of the first half when he completely opened up the opposition to put Connor Field in for a terrific try.

“But this is a 20 man game and it was a 20 man performance.”

Referee: Harry Walbaum

Attendance: 512

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Bacon (2T), Field (T), Hollingsworth (3P, C)

Chinnor: Worrall (2T), Treviranus (T), Yawayawa (T), May (2C)

Titans: 15 George Castledine, 14 Ben Robbins, 13 Connor Field, 12 Tom Bullough, 11 Tom Bacon, 10 Sam Hollingsworth, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Harry Newborn (Defelitto 76), 3 Will Dennis (Whitfield 54), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge, 5 Kieran Frost, 6 Lewis Wilson, 7 Keifer Laxton (Waddington 54), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Harry Whitfield, 17 Agustin Defelitto, 18 Alfie North, 19 Ben Waddington, 20 Morgan Bunting.

Chinnor: 15 Caolan Ryan (Laverick 40), 14 Samu Yawayawa, 13 Jason Worrall, 12 Danny Barnes, 11 Josh Hodson, 10 Laurence May, 9 Jake Ashby, 1 Tom Fidler (Southworth 48), 2 Nick Selway, 3 Josh McNulty, 4 Ben Thomas (Gray 70), 5 Cameron Gray (Ehizode 55), 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Matt Marley (Manning 60), 8 Willie Ryan.

Replacements: 16 Charles Robinson, 17 Dan Southworth, 18 Ehize Ehizode, 19 Ben Manning, 20 Pete Laverick.

Titans 13 Darlington MP 18

Rotherham Titans were once again on the wrong side of a single score defeat as Darlington centre Ben Dixon went over in the final play of the game to inflict a 18-13 loss on the Titans.

The visitors outscored Rotherham by two tries to one in a very close and highly physical encounter. The defeat leaves Titans with just 2 wins out of the first 6 games.

However, the South Yorkshire side can take some comfort from the fact they have been extremely competitive in all the games to date this season; they now need to make sure they are the ones getting on the right side of these close games.

Rotherham enjoyed the better first 40 minutes, although the game was a tight affair throughout with both sides putting in a tremendous effort in defence.

Following a Warren Seals penalty towards the end of the first quarter Titans rallied well and deservedly took the lead on the half hour mark when referee James Clarke awarded the hosts a penalty try after a high tackle close to the line by Euan McKirdy prevented a try; McKirdy received a yellow card for his misdemeanour.

Titans extended their advantage to 10-3 four minutes later when fly half Sam Hollingsworth expertly converted a mid-range penalty from in front of the sticks.

Back came Darlington however and a massive forward effort put Rotherham under huge pressure inside their own 22 for what seemed like an age. Massive credit at this point must go the hosts as time and again they smashed the visitors backwards, before eventually clearing their lines.

However, in the final play of the half, in the eight minute of stoppage time Park’s number 8 Oliver Hodgson came on to the ball to run in to score near the posts. Seals’ conversion sent the sides in at the break at 10 apiece.

The second period followed the pattern of the first, in that both sides showed huge determination in their work, and all too often the defences cancelled out the others efforts.

Eventually 12 minutes from time Titans nosed ahead when Hollingsworth calmly struck a 3-pointer following Park’s lack of discipline at the breakdown.

On the 80 minute mark however Titans indiscretion at the breakdown resulted in Seals levelling the game at 13 all after he knocked over a well-taken penalty from around 40 metres.

A draw would probably have been a fair result, but at this moment in time Rotherham are just not getting what they deserve.

In the final play of the game former Titan Callum Irvine collected the ball just outside the 22 and proceeded to dance his way pass 3 defenders before offloading to centre Ben Dixon who dived over to break Titans hearts and seal the game.

A disappointed Titans Director of Rugby, Martin Jenkinson, reflected post-match, “I feel we are dying in games and again we are involved in a single score game where we have come out on the wrong side. At the minute we just haven’t got enough in the tank to get us to the right side of the single score games.

“I think Darlington probably deserved to edge the game; equally it could have gone either way and it was disappointing that it was a glaring error and then a lack of fitness at the end that allowed Darlington to get the final score.

“We have now got to regroup and to do some hard work; we identified our problems a couple of weeks ago and we haven’t sorted them in a fortnight and so we’ve got to keep working until we get it right.

“There was some very good defence from the boys, but defending is massively tiring and we’re doing too much of it.

“When we’re putting our kicks in and when we are in possession of the ball we’ve got to be doing more with it, so that we’re not back on our 22 doing another defensive set again.

“At certain times we didn’t get off the line quick enough, which in turn gave them the room to play and that is disappointing; we can do no more than regroup, work hard and get back.”

Referee: James Clarke

Attendance: 617

Yellow Card: McKirdy (Darlington)

Titans: Penalty Try, Hollingsworth (2P)

Darlington Mowden Park: Hodgson (T), Dixon (T), Seals (2P, C)

Titans: 15 Tom Bacon, 14 Ben Robbins, 13 Jamie Cooke (Bunting 3), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Connor Field, 10 Sam Hollingsworth, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams (Whitfield 39), 2 Harry Newborn, 3 Reece Ward (Dennis 5), 4 Elliott Ward (Preston-Routledge 32), 5 Lewis Wilson (Ward 64), 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Keifer Laxton (North 54), 8 Anthony Maka (Wilson 76).

Replacements: 16 Harry Whitfield, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Alfie North, 20 Morgan Bunting.

Darlington Mowden Park: 15 Callum Irvine, 14 Brandon Asher-Wood, 13 Oliver Walker (Moloney 64), 12 Ben Dixon, 11 Callum Mackenzie, 10 Warren Seals, 9 Euan McKirdy, 1 Conrad Cade (Barron 56), 2 Ralph Appleby (Duffy 48), 3 Ignas Darkintis, 4 Max Davies, 5 Dave Fisher, 6 Dan Grange (Marshall 54), 7 George Stokes, 8 Oliver Hodgson (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Alfie Barron, 17 Joe Duffy, 18 Talite Vaioleti, 19 Tom Marshall, 20 Aedan Moloney.

Birmingham Moseley 15 Titans 11

Rotherham Titans away day blues continued with a narrow 15-11 loss at Birmingham Moseley, leaving the South Yorkshire side still without an away victory in three attempts this season.

The contest was a tale of two halves, as it tends to be at Moseley, with the famous slope at Billesley Common often dictating who wins the half and it did again on this occasion.

Titans went in at the break 11-3 to the good after Lewis Wilson had crashed over after just two minutes and former Moseley fly half Sam Hollingsworth hit two successful penalties. His counterpart, Ben Penfold registered a 3-pointer for the hosts.

At halftime, maybe inside the Titans camp there was a belief that it was ‘easy’ and just running out for the second forty was all that was required.

If so, a rude awakening lurked around the corner, as the hosts used the slope expertly to work themselves firstly back into the game and then ahead.

By the hour mark second rower Aaron Croft and centre Oliver Morris both crossed the whitewash to give Moseley the lead.

Late on in the game Rotherham had their moments close to the line, but unfortunately they were unable to capitalise on them and as a result had to settle for a losing bonus point.

Commenting post-match, Titans Director of Rugby, Martin Jenkinson, said, “It was a difficult contest, Moseley have started the season well and it’s always difficult to take them on here on their own patch.

“It’s a strange set of emotions really; because on the one hand I feel like how did we not win that game; equally I could say how did we manage to get a point.

“Some of the play in the second half seemed to be a comedy of errors from both teams and games often turn on a series of incidents.

“The biggest incident in the game was the scrummage in the corner where we were pressing their line and then in one passage of play it’s a last-ditch tackle to save a try on our line and then their tails are up again.

“On a different day it could have been a different result, but we must start winning these close games.

“There are so many close games in this division and so many are decided by a single score and the art is to be on the right side of that single score.”

Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts

Attendance: 775

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Wilson (T), Hollingsworth (2P)

Birmingham Moseley: Crofts (T), Morris (T), Palmer (P, C)

Titans: 15 Sam Allan (Bunting 25), 14 Ben Robbins, 13 Tom Williams, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Dan Leake, 10 Sam Hollingsworth, 9 Sam Boxhall (Wilson 80), 1 Harry Whitfield (Toby Williams 29) (Whitfield 41) (Toby Williams 58), 2 Harry Newborn, 3 Reece Ward (Dennis 29) (Ward 41) (Dennis 58), 4 Elliott Ward (Preston-Routledge 60), 5 Kieran Frost, 6 Lewis Wilson (Laxton 61), 7 Zak Poole (Capt.), 8 Anthony Maka.

Replacements: 16 Toby Williams, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Keifer Laxton, 20 Morgan Bunting.

Birmingham Moseley: 15 Cliffie Hodgson, 14 Aquile Smith, 13 Oliver Morris, 12 Kieran Joyce, 11 Mason Tonks, 10 Ben Palmer, 9 Jack Jolly (Arr 41), 1 Joe Foreman (Priest 66), 2 Peter Austin (Tanner 58), 3 Osman Dimen (Hunt 58), 4 Aaron Crofts (Dawes 50), 5 Danny Wright, 6 Michael Stephens, 7 Morgan Dawes (Monks 41) (Austin 80), 8 Buster Lawrence.

Replacements: 16 Ethan Priest, 17 Rhodri Tanner, 18 Alex Hunt, 19 Morgan Monks, 20 Johnny Arr.