Sale FC 47 Titans 7

Rotherham Titans endured a bad day at the office, crashing to their heaviest defeat of the season as Sale FC ran in 7 tries to run away 47-7 winners on one of the heaviest pitches Titans are likely to play on this term.

The result leaves Rotherham 9 points adrift of safety and their nearest rivals Birmingham Moseley, who visit Clifton Lane next month, in what promises to be a vitally important game.

In the meantime, as the squad breaks up for the Christmas holidays, this final game of 2019 will be one they’ll want to forget about quickly.

Right from the start when Rotherham conceded in the second minute through former Titan Fergus Mulchrone, the writing was on the wall. Three further first half tries followed to send Titans in at the break 28-0 down.

The second half was better for the South Yorkshire side, but nothing to boast about as they conceded another three tries.

Titans only points of the game came at the end as centre Harry Dunne intercepted before running in to dot down under the sticks.

Commenting post game a visibly disappointed Matt Smith explained, “I thought we let ourselves down massively! Once again we’ve had a great training week and it’s come to the game and we’ve just not put anything on the pitch that we’ve done in the week.

“At times we just had brain explosions, people not sticking to what we want them to do and then just the amount of errors in numerous different positions.

“Whether that be a line out throw or a call, whether it’s being offside in midfield for no reason and under no pressure or whether it be in attack when we’ve actually got a bit of pressure on them and then we try doing it on our own and get turned over. We are just killing ourselves.

“In the first half all their tries came from everything that we did wrong; Sale didn’t have to do anything to get them and that’s where we are as a group at the moment.

“This is a good league and when you’re making as many errors as we are, you don’t deserve to win a game of rugby.”

Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts

Attendance: 729

Yellow Card: Chris Johnson (Sale FC)

Titans: Dunne (T), Dever (1C)

Sale FC: Brady (2T), Mulchrone (T), Bingham (T), Talaese (T), Longmore (T), Barron (T), Johnson (7C)

Titans: 15 Sam Allan, 14 Connor Field, 13 Jamie Cooke, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Ben Robbins, 10 Morgan Bunting (Boxhall 49), 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Jones 56), 3 Reece Ward (Dennis 30), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge (Frost h-t), 5 Will Hughes (North h-t), 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Keifer Laxton, 8 Anthony Maka. 

Replacements: 16 Ianto Jones, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Kieran Frost, 19 Alfie North, 20 Sam Boxhall.

Sale FC: 15 Tom Brady, 14 Anthony Bingham, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Johnny Leota (Rawcliffe 51), 11 Patrick Ah Van (Bradley 64), 10 Chris Johnson, 9 Matt Bradley (Calle Rivas 50), 1 Dan Birchall (Pope 41), 2 Ollie Longmore (Birchall 66), 3 Matt Talaese (Matthews 32) (Talaese 66), 4 Rhys Davies (Gray 61), 5 Nick Gray (Priestley-Nangle 41), 6 Jake Barron, 7 Andrew Hughes (Capt.), 8 Jarad Williams.

Replacements: 16 Jake Pope, 17 Dan Matthews, 18 Stone Priestley-Nangle, 19 Jonty Rawcliffe, 20 Emiliano Calle Rivas.

Photo: Gareth Lyons

Titans 20 Canterbury 19

Rotherham Titans dramatically snatched victory in the 8th minute of injury time, as fly half Morgan Bunting kept his nerve to slot over a penalty kick to seal a 20-19 win over Canterbury, on a cold afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ points came way of two tries from number 8 Anthony Maka and one from full back Sam Allan; whilst Morgan Bunting added 5 points from the tee.

The victory was a crucial one for the South Yorkshire side as they reduced their arrears in the relegation zone from 12 to 8 points at the half way point of the season.

Titans’ victory will have boosted confidence within the ranks and they will now travel to Sale FC this weekend looking to build on their success as they attempt to move closer to safety in National 1.

The game itself was an evenly balanced affair with both sides enjoying periods of dominance; although it took until the end of the first quarter for the scoreboard to click into life.

When it did however it was in Canterbury’s favour as the visitor’s second rower Alex Thompson used his strength and power to barge his way over the line following a series of pick and goes.

Titans soon responded to level matters though, as their own powerhouse Anthony Maka dotted down from the tail of a maul following a powerful drive from the pack.

Buoyed by this Rotherham found another level and looked sharp and threatening with ball in hand; their reward for their speed of play came just after the half hour mark when the ball was spread right for Sam Allan to join the line and dive over for Titans second try.

Canterbury had lots of possession towards the end of the half, but Titans line speed and determination in defence meant they would go in at the break 12-7 to the good.

Rotherham extended their advantage to 17-7 early in the second half when from a line out close to the line Anthony Maka peeled off the back of the drive to bulldoze his way over for his second try and Titans third.

Shortly after Titans almost had the bonus point try when Connor Field broke from inside his own half and made good ground before finding Connor Dever.

The scrum half chipped over the top of the onrushing defence, but disappointingly for Rotherham the ball just ran out of play before full back Sam Allan could touch it down,

Incredibly however, within 10 minutes of this Canterbury crossed the line twice to score through half back Dan Smart and a second try for Alex Thompson to give the visitors a surprising 19-17 edge.

Much of the final quarter was controlled by Canterbury, with Rotherham having to work their socks off to keep them out – but this they did.

As the game went deep into injury time and with the visitors pressing on the edge of Titans 22, Kieran Frost spotted the ball loose at the back of the ruck.

The tall second rower pounced quickly to collect and make his way downfield. The ensuing phases of play resulted in Rotherham being awarded a penalty in front of the sticks.

With the final kick of the match Morgan Bunting calmly slotted over to give his side a much needed victory.

Commenting post-game a relieved Martin Jenkinson explained, “Games turn on the bounce of the ball and seasons can turn on small margins and small issues, but today was all about the result first and foremost.

“The run we’ve been on hasn’t been great and confidence has been low, but all that really mattered today was to get the win and we didn’t care how we got it.

“When you are losing week on week and you’ve not got enough players to do what you want to do in training it’s hard.

“We’ve got that win now and we’ve crossed the line; now we’ve got to use the win as a springboard to get back up that table.

“They say losing is habitual but winning is habitual as well and hopefully we can now go on a run.

“Today, mercifully, at the end we got the kick to get the win. Up until the mid-point in the second half we were the better team and then it went from us.

“The TMO would say their first try was dropped over the line. Their second try was soft; we were setting up the ruck and they realised the ball was on the line and they scored.

“With those soft tries we could have given the game away; fortunately we clawed back into it and got the win.”

Referee: Tim Allatt

Attendance: 512

Yellow Card: Thompson (Canterbury), Bunting (Titans)

Titans: Maka (2T), Allan (T), Bunting (C, P)

Canterbury: Thompson (2T), Smart (T), Best (2C)

Titans: 15 Sam Allan (Field 78), 14 Dan Leake, 13 Connor Field (Cooke 72), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Ben Robbins, 10 Morgan Bunting, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Reece Ward (Nearchou 68), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge, 5 Will Hughes (Frost 40), 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Keifer Laxton (North 63), 8 Anthony Maka. 

Replacements: 16 Zac Nearchou, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Kieran Frost, 19 Alfie North, 20 Jamie Cooke.

Canterbury: 15 Will Waddington, 14 Ricky Mackintosh (Capt.) (Corcoran 70), 13 Sam Sterling, 12 Tom Best, 11 Jonathan Murray, 10 Charlie Kingsman, 9 Dan Smart, 1 Jamie Dever, 2 Gene Syminton (King 35), 3 Alex Wake-Smith (Young 70), 4 Royce Cadman, 5 Alex Thompson, 6 Jamie Stephens, 7 Jack Rouse, 8 Tyler Oliver.

Replacements: 16 Dwayne Corcoran, 17 Tristan King, 18 Will Young, 19 Tom Williams, 20 Matt Corker.

Old Elthamians 46 Titans 18

Rotherham Titans put in a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance as they lost their way in a dysfunctional second half which saw them crash to 46-18 defeat to Old Elthamians.

As good as Rotherham were in the first half – and they were very good at times – their second half performance was enigmatically poor.

The first 40 minutes saw Rotherham put in one of their better performances of recent times; their energy and intensity levels were super high and the hosts struggled to cope with the Titans “in the face” approach.

Such was their first half superiority, the South Yorkshire side went in at half time leading 18-8 and deservedly so.

Good tries from hooker Jack Bergmanas and second rower Will Hughes capped off dominant periods of play for Rotherham.

OE’s first half points came via a penalty from ex-Titan Ollie Bryant and a try in the seventh minute of injury time from back rower Harry Ledger.

How different things may have turned out if Titans could have held out at this point and gone in at the break 18-3 up will never be known.

However, what followed in the second period could not have been envisaged at half time.

From the second half restart Rotherham dropped the ball; the resulting phases saw OE’s go over through centre George Eastwell.

You could almost sense the shift in momentum at this juncture. With every drop of confidence that left Titans, Old Elthamians picked it up and added it to their game.

What followed was a disaster for Rotherham as the home side ran in a further five tries through full back Louis Brown, centre George Eastwell, replacement back Alex Brown, winger Alex Goble and replacement scrum half Rhys Morgan.

The capitulation will be a concern to all involved at Clifton Lane and with the visit of Canterbury this weekend to Yorkshire, it is imperative that Rotherham put in an 80 minute performance.

Commenting after the game, Titans DOR, Martin Jenkinson, said, “As we’ve seen in the last two weeks, when we get enough people fit we can compete with the top-end sides. At the moment however, the problem is that we are only competing for periods in the game.

“I think anybody would say that the first 40 minutes from Rotherham was a good 40 minutes of rugby and worthy of being at the top-end of the division.

“However, the second half was really disappointing and as often the case turned on one or two little things.

“We drop a ball from the kick-off at the start of the second half, we fall off a tackle in the centres and before you know it they’ve score and score again and then the whole thing gathers a pace.

“All we can do is work; we have to continue to work hard and work hard on our fitness which is getting better. We’ve got to work on our mental attitude, which is also getting better and we’ve got to get there.

“We have another huge game at home next week against Canterbury, to say anything other would be wrong, people can see the league table.

“I’m not going to say we have to win, but really our situation would be greatly enhanced if we could get a win.”

Referee: Charlie Gayther

Attendance: 205

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Bergmanas (T), Hughes (T), Bunting (1P), Hollingsworth (1P, 1C)

Old Elthamians: Eastwell (2T), L. Brown (1T), Ledger (T), A. Brown (1T), Goble (T), Morgan (T), Bryant (1P, 4C)

Titans: 15 Tom Bacon, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Jamie Cooke (Hollingsworth 7) (Hughes 66), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Ben Robbins, 10 Morgan Bunting, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams (Bergmanas 76), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Defelitto 60), 3 Will Dennis (Reece Ward 49), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge, 5 Will Hughes (Elliott Ward 60), 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Keifer Laxton, 8 Anthony Maka (Waddington 43).

Replacements: 16 Agustin Defelitto, 17 Reece Ward, 18 Elliott Ward, 19 Ben Waddington, 20 Sam Hollingsworth.

Old Elthamians: 15 Louis Brown, 14 Bryan Hotston (Alex Brown 55), 13 Marc Koteczky, 12 George Eastwell (Capt.), 11 Alex Goble, 10 Ollie Bryant, 9 Ollie Claxton (Morgan 56), 1 Cam Holenstein (Concu 40), 2 Nathan Morris, 3 Stefan North (Hay 40), 4 Perry Parker (McGeekie 47), 5 Adam Batt, 6 Harry Ledger (Parker 66), 7 Jared Saunders, 8 Mike Kovacic.

Replacements: 16 Austin Hay, 17 Tom Concu, 18 Dom McGeekie, 19 Rhys Morgan, 20 Alex Brown.

Blackheath 33 Titans 17

Rotherham Titans put in a much improved performance before going down 33-17 to high flyers Blackheath on a dark and dreary winters afternoon at Well Hall.

Despite the loss, which was their fourth in succession, Titans can take plenty of positives from a performance that pushed a good top-end side all the way.

Rotherham will however be frustrated with themselves that the occasional errors that are in their game at the moment resurfaced, and it was again either a poor decision here or a poor execution there which ultimately cost them a crucial victory at Blackheath.

The effort, determination and intensity was there in abundance and when the silly errors are put to bed, the victories will no doubt follow.

Blackheath’s opening score inside the first 10 minutes came about when a Titans 22 drop out went horribly wrong. The ensuing phases resulted in winger Jake Lloyd crossing the whitewash.

Six minutes later, from being deep inside the oppositions 22, Rotherham allowed the home side out, conceded a penalty from which the home side crashed over through a catch and drive from hooker Mike Perks. Suddenly Titans were 14-0 down and looking in deep trouble.

However, rather than taking the easy way out and rolling over away from home, Rotherham “bit down on the gum-shield” and mounted an enormously creditable comeback.

Before the first quarter elapsed Titans got themselves on the board.

From a line-out close to the line they drove up to the line, before spinning the ball out wide to winger Ben Robbins who finished off neatly in the corner. Hollingsworth’s conversion from the touchline was expertly nudged over.

Boosted by their success Rotherham impressed as they took the game to Blackheath, forcing them backwards with good pace and intensity about their work.

On the stroke of half time Titans reduced their arrears further when Hollingsworth added a 3-pointer from the tee, to send his side in at the break trailing 14-10.

The second half began well for the South Yorkshire side as their new-found energy and enthusiasm meant Blackheath had to defend with full vigour and hopes were high in the Rotherham camp of an unexpected victory.

However, the game changed one minute either side of the hour mark, when the home side ran in two converted tries from hooker Perks and scrum half Jack Daly to give the hosts a 26-10 advantage.

Despite the wind being knocked out of their sails Rotherham regrouped and showed great character to fight back and take the game to Blackheath.

They were rewarded for their endeavours eight minutes from time when following a terrific period of forward pressure close to the line the ball was spun out to Morgan Bunting who in turn found a pass to Sam Hollingsworth for him to race around to score.

However, at the death the home side had the final say when winger Jake Lloyd raced through for his second and Blackheath’s fifth try of the match.

Post-game, despite suffering another defeat, Titans Director of Rugby, Martin Jenkinson, was bullish in his assessment, “It’s no secret we’ve been in a dark place in recent weeks and we are still struggling to get players fit, particularly in the front row, but I think we made a big stride forward today.

“The boys stayed in the arm wrestle, we took a good side the full distance and the score line if anything flatters Blackheath.

“I am positive and these boys have got to be positive; I’ve just said to them that I’ve seen the first stride today for a side getting out of the trough.

“If we continue to work hard in training and if we keep the energy levels up, I firmly believe we will climb up this table and I’m certain of that.

“We are doing a lot of things right; some things this year have conspired against us, but you just have to get over that and crack on because all sides will have their ups and downs in sport.

“Next week we will travel to Old Elthamians for the win, and I’m convinced we are capable of achieving that.”

Referee: Alan Chandrachud

Attendance: 327

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Robins (T), Hollingsworth (T, 2C, P)

Blackheath: Lloyd (2T), Perks (2T), Daly (T), Cooke (4C)

Titans: 15 Sam Hollingsworth, 14 Dan Leake (Bacon 52), 13 Jamie Cooke, 12 Tom Bullough (Laxton 68), 11 Ben Robbins, 10 Morgan Bunting, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Defelitto 60), 3 Will Dennis (Armitage 72), 4 Elliott Ward, 5 Will Hughes (North 60), 6 Lewis Wilson, 7 Keifer Laxton (Waddington 59), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Agustin Defelitto, 17 James Armitage, 18 Alfie North, 19 Ben Waddington, 20 Tom Bacon.

Blackheath: 15 Nick Foster (Ransom 54), 14 Jake Lloyd, 13 Alex Pickersgill (Staff 60), 12 Markus Burcham (Capt), 11 Craig Dowsett, 10 Mark Cooke, 9 Jack Daly (Foster 68), 1 Tom Williams, 2 Mike Perks (Fry 63), 3 Danny Herriott (Seward 41), 4 Jamie Ure, 5 Tom Stradwick, 6 Tom Baldwin, 7 Josh Poole (Owen 60), 8 Tom Burns.

Replacements: 16 Harry Fry, 17 Harry Seward, 18 Freddie Owen, 19 Ben Ransom, 20 Henry Staff.