Leeds Tykes 26 Titans 20

Rotherham Titans put in a colossal effort before eventually suffering a narrow 26-20 defeat to Leeds Tykes on a cold afternoon at The Sycamores.

Titans were outscored by four tries to two with John Okafor dotting down twice for Roth and Lloyd Hayes adding 10 points from the tee.

Titans’ first defeat of the season was a difficult one to take after such an effort, but they will take heart with over half the season remaining and Leeds having yet come to Clifton Lane, everything is still up for grabs.

The first half of the match saw Rotherham forced to defend for long periods; but this they did with huge intensity as they drove the home side backwards on numerous occasions.

As expected beforehand Rotherham held the upper hand in the forwards, but Leeds always looked threatening with ball in hand.

Titans thought they’d gone in front when winger Dan Rundle ran the length of the field to dot down under the sticks.

However, disappointment struck when the try was disallowed and play brought back 80 metres after the assistant referee adjudged Rotherham had been offside.

The scoreboard finally got a nudge on the half hour mark when Leeds went ahead after Jacob Mounsey ran a kick back from 70 metres and popped an inside pass to Harry Jukes to go in. Peter Lucock added the extras from in front of the posts.

Five minutes before the break Titans went down to 14 men after Gareth Denman was sin-binned for an offence at the breakdown.

Roth tried to ride out the storm until half time, but 2 minutes into injury time Leeds full back Kieran Davies spotted a gap in the line to cut through and run around to score under the posts. Lucock completed the formality of the conversion.

Rotherham came out for the second half rejuvenated and inside 2 minutes got on the board with a Lloyd Hayes penalty.

Shortly after Hayes thought he’d scored in the corner, but unfortunately for him another assistant referee’s decision deemed that he had been held up.

Rotherham finally converted their pressure into points just before the hour mark when John Okafor collected out wide and proceeded to power his way over the line. Hayes converted nicely.

Hayes then narrowed the gap to 14-13 a few minutes later with a penalty kick.

The momentum was now with Rotherham and they went in search of a famous victory.

However that was not meant to be.

Firstly Kieran Davies impressed with his pace as he spotted a gap in the Roth defence and darted through; then Harry Jukes used his pace to race down the line to score under the sticks for the bonus point.

Late on John Okafor scored what could be an important try as he dotted down and Hayes converted for a bonus point.

It was a surprise the game didn’t restart after less than 2 minutes of injury time, but Rotherham can take heart from their performance.

Roth will also know as the long winter months are about to set in, there is a long way to go in the season and importantly Leeds are yet to visit Clifton Lane.

It is expected there will be more twists and turns in the road before the outcome of this league is settled.

Rotherham will now switch their attention to the huge challenge South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Tigers will pose when they visit Clifton Lane on Saturday.

Speaking after the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“It was a hell of a battle and you have to give Leeds credit, they stuck to what they’ve been all season in the way they play. I think the amount of pressure that Rotherham withstood today without the ball and the effort they put in was exceptional.

“There were some key moments in the game where the outcome swings either way. At 13-14 and then after we scored late on; I thought they may have been time to have restarted the game, but that’s the way it goes.

“To come away from home, put that amount of effort in and to pick up the bonus point, the players can be very proud of themselves.

“We still have things to learn and we are seeing at training the players are stepping up and learning and improving and I’m seeing that each week.

“I’ve said to the players this game won’t define our season. We can’t wait to get back to training and build on today. The performances keep coming and I’m proud of them; let’s see what the coming weeks bring.”

Referee: Daniel Woods

Attendance: 991

Yellow Card: Denman (Titans)

Titans: Okafor (2T), Hayes (2C, 2P)

Leeds Tykes: Jukes (2T), Davies (2T), Lucock (2C), Turagabeci (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Harry Dunne, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 72), 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 35) (Capps 58), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 25) (Bergmanas 60), 3 Gareth Denman (Cowen-Leak 43), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Ward 35) (Denman 58), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Callum Bustin, 20 Will Metcalfe.  

Leeds Tykes: 15 Kieran Davies, 14 Jacob Mounsey (Jukes 74), 13 Ben Dixon, 12 Tom Williams (Turagabeci 63), 11 Harry Jukes (Macnab 63), 20 Peter Lucock, 9 Will Hardwick, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Adam Brown (Capt.), 3 Jordan Cordice (Dennis 30), 4 Charlie Friend, 5 Tom Collins, 6 Eddie Brown (Ademakin 30) (Brown 57), 7 Lucas Walsh (Yorke 78), 8 Junior Nu’u (Ademakin 66).

Replacements: 16 Aarin Yorke, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Tobi Ademakin, 19 Henry Macnab, 10 Seremaia Turagabeci.

Titans 28 Hull 9

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their well-deserved 28-9 win over Yorkshire rivals Hull on a blustery afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored Hull by three tries to nil with Will Milner, Charlie Caps and Matt Challinor all dotting down, whilst Lloyd Hayes added 13 points from the tee.

The win keeps Titans unbeaten record intact and sets up nicely this weekend’s trip to fellow unbeaten side and league leaders Leeds.

This game was good preparation for Leeds, as Hull proved to be extremely tough and competitive throughout and Rotherham shouldn’t be disappointed at not claiming the bonus point.

Indeed it was Hull that raced out of the blocks brightly and got the scoreboard ticking over first when fly half Reece Dean knocked over an early penalty.

Rotherham needed to be mentally “on it” for this game and they certainly were as they faced a huge physical challenge from a powerful side, both in the backs as well as in the forwards.

Inside 10 minutes Roth went ahead when fly half Will Milner, after collecting a sharp pass from Will Metcalfe, showed immense strength to power over the line with Hull defenders hanging from him. Lloyd Hayes converted from in front of the sticks.

Before long Hull retook the lead following two more penalty kicks from Dean to make it 9-7, as Rotherham began to lose a little discipline.

Roth regathered themselves as the half wore on and they began to get the upper hand in the match; this led to Hayes knocking over his second penalty to nose his side back ahead.

That advantage was stretched in the final play of the half when loose head prop Charlie Capps barged his way over following a huge pack effort close to the line. Hayes converted to take it to 17-9 and ensured the half time oranges tasted that bit sweeter.

The second half saw Rotherham enjoy lots of territory and possession with Hull seldom threatening the home line; indeed Hull were nilled by an impressive Rotherham display.

Two further penalties from Hayes 10 minutes in made it 23-9, before on the hour mark Rotherham scored their third try when lock forward Matt Challinor barge over.

Try as they might however Roth were unable to add to their tally as Hull showed tremendous determination and spirit to keep them out.

Titans can be mighty pleased with the win over a side that must surely finish inside the top 5 this season and now Roth will switch their attention to the encounter in West Yorkshire this Saturday against Leeds.

Speaking after the game head coach Gaz Lewis said:

“I think we did a lot of things well; we played field position in the second half, we didn’t quite get the detail right around our maul, but I’m not quite sure about the legalities in how they defended it and we’ll have a look at that later.

“However we got the win and we should be proud of that and we’ve continued our winning momentum.

“Will Metcalfe at scrum half on debut played well; I thought he marshalled the game fine, he was sharp around the breakdown and he’s hungry to learn and improve and he has lots of potential.

“The season is building nicely; the game next week against Leeds has been on everyone’s lips and we’ve done well to keep our focus on the job in hand each week.”

Referee: Peter Connor

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Kivalu (Titans), Logavatu (Hull)

Titans: Milner (T), Caps (T), Challinor (T), Hayes (2C, 3P)

Hull: Dean (3P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi (Dunne 53), 11 Jack Render, 10 Will Milner, 9 Will Metcalfe (Bruzulier 50), 1 Loma Kivalu (Cowen-Leak 35), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 55), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 28), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Capps 28), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Charlie Capps, 3 Gareth Denman, 20 Harry Dunne, 23 JB Bruzulier.  

Hull: 15 Jamie Shaul, 14 Ali Heard, 13 Duell Trueman, 12 Bureta Faraimo (Hudson 65), 11 Harrison Astley, 10 Reece Dean, 9 David Davidson, 1 Jamie Major (Beech 40) (Major 76), 2 Mike Jobling, 3 Tomas Bairstow, 4 Paulos Latu (Logavatu 40), 5 Liam Regardsoe, 6 David Halaifonua (Nasilasila 61), 7 Evi Uriburu-Gray (Russell 52), 8 Will Hall.

Replacements: 16 Kym Russell, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Mosese Nasilasila, 19 Joji Logavatu, 20 Peter Hudson.

Hull Ionians 24 Titans 49

Rotherham Titans put in an impressive performance to run out 49-24 winners over a hard-working Hull Ionians outfit on a bright afternoon at Brantingham Park.

Rotherham outscored the hosts by 7 tries to three as John Okafor and Loma Kivalu helped themselves to a brace of tries, with Charlie Capps, JB Bruzulier and Lloyd Hayes all going over too; the latter also impressed from the tea as he secured a perfect afternoon with 7 conversions.

The victory was well-deserved and maintains Titans unbeaten record this term; it also keeps them within touching distance of league leaders Leeds Tykes.

The game itself played in a combative spirit, saw Ionians take the lead on 3 minutes when Lewis Minikin knocked over a penalty.

Rotherham soon settled however and began to enjoy periods of possession and territory which resulted in the first try, when fly half Will Milner slipped through to send in John Okafor under the posts.

Despite their increasing dominance Rotherham had to wait until just before the half hour mark before their next score.

This time it was scrum half JB Bruzulier with a little pop-pass that sent in loose head prop Charlie Capps.

Just before the break Titans Jack Taylor was yellow carded; the result of which saw Ionians camped on the Titans line for a full five minutes.

This was a huge moment in the game, but Rotherham managed to hold out with some outstanding defending with 14 men.

After the break Roth quickly found their stride and by the hour mark had run in another 3 tries to virtually seal the game.

First up JB Bruzulier spun off the back of a powerful maul to dive over, then Lloyd Hayes collected a pass from Bruzulier and proceeded to cut through the I’s defence to score and finally front row replacement Loma Kivalu picked up from the base of a ruck close to the line to dive over.

Inside the final 10 minutes and with the game gone, Ionians chose to run everything in pursuit of a try bonus point.

Eight minutes from time Lewis Minikin got the ball rolling when he sliced through quite easily for I’s first try.

From the restart Roth responded immediately when John Okafor collected and proceeded to gallop almost half the length of the field for a nice individual try.

Back came the hosts however and with lots of adventure and ambition scored a quick-fire brace of tries through Joe Makin and Lucas Powell.

Nevertheless Rotherham did have the final say when Kivalu collected near the posts to dive over in a frenetic ending to the game.

Other than the final 10 minutes of the match Rotherham would have been delighted with their defensive effort, but more importantly, to come away from a tricky test like Hull Ionians with five points is to be highly commended.

Titans will now turn their attention to and prepare well for their next assignment, when Hull visit Clifton Lane on Saturday.

Referee: Michael Harris

Attendance: 317

Yellow Card: Taylor (Titans)

Titans: Okafor (2T), Kivalu (2T), Capps (T), Bruzulier (T), Hayes (T, 7C)

Hull Ionians: Makin (T), Powell (T), Minikin (T, P, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Eissa 59), 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 51), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 51), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 40), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith (Cowen-Leak 79), 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Bustin 53), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Callum Bustin, 20 Kareem Eissa.  

Hull Ionians: 15 Lewis Minikin, 14 Sam Wilson (Winch 64), 13 Josh Britton, 12 Will Stowe, 11 Will Yates, 10 Sam Pocklington, 9 Jimmy McDaniel (Hassard 64), 1 Chris Morton, 2 Ally Forth (Edwards 64), 3 Euan Walker (Westwood 46), 4 Joe Makin, 5 Callum Sanderson (Gascoigne 56), 6 Lucas Powell, 7 James Sanderson (Capt.), 8 George Mewburn. 

Replacements: 16 Scott Westwood, 19 Sam Edwards, 21 Declan Gascoigne, 24 Tom Winch, 20 Sam Hassard.

Titans 34 Otley 32

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their narrow, but deserved 34-32 win over a resolute Otley side on a wet afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored the West Yorkshire outfit by five tries to four, with scores coming from Luke Cole, Harry Dunne, Zak Poole and a brace from Jack Taylor, whilst Lloyd Hayes added nine points from the tee.

The victory was far from straightforward with Rotherham having to overcome a first half 25-14 deficit, before mounting a stirring second half effort to run out worthy winners.

Otley started the game brighter showing plenty of emotion and desire to get at Roth; that enthusiasm was converted into points on 5 minutes when full back Jacob Holmes broke through to open the scoring.

Titans bounced back shortly after when a powerful maul pushed the visitors backwards before hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail. Lloyd Hayes impressed with his conversion from out wide on his 100th appearance for the club.

Back came Otley almost immediately as winger Sam Taylor coasted through the Roth defence far too easily to score. Gavin Stead converted and then stretched his side’s advantage to 15-7 a few minutes later with a penalty.

Despite Rotherham enjoying lots of territory and possession and despite their pack completely dominating at the set piece they were unable to add to their tally at this phase of the game.

Eventually however the pressure told on Otley as Harry Dunne crashed over following a lot of hard work inside the 22. Hayes tagged on the extras.

Disappointingly again for Rotherham Otley hit back almost straight way!

This time it was scrum half Rory Gaffney who skipped his way through virtually unopposed from a scrum inside the Roth 22. Stead converted and followed this up with another penalty just before half time to send his side in for the oranges in high spirits.

Trailing 25-14 Rotherham needed to respond and find solutions to overcome a stubborn and determined Otley outfit.

Indeed, the second half saw a different Rotherham to the first as they stepped up their intensity, cut down on the penalties and became more clinical when opportunities arose. This resulted in them scoring three tries inside a 15-minute spell.

Firstly skipper Zak Poole crashed over from a maul, before winger Jack Taylor raced in for two sharp tries in the corner to give his side a 31-25 lead.

Inside the final ten minutes Lloyd Hayes added another penalty to stretch Roth’s lead to 34-25 and crucially to more than one score.

It appeared as if Otley would suffer being nilled in the second half, before two minutes from time centre Gavin Stead went over near the posts following a break in midfield from Louis Martin. Stead dusted himself down to knock over the extras and set up a nervy finish for the Titans.

From the restart however Otley couldn’t get out of their half and when Titans John Okafor induced a penalty with some fine work over the ball, referee Woods blew to end a pulsating encounter.

Once again Titans witnessed how opposing teams find performances against them that belie their league position; and so massive credit must go to the Roth players for matching their opponent’s spirit and determination and for coming out on top and maintaining their unbeaten status this term.

Speaking after the game Titans Rugby Consultant Harvey Biljon reflected:

“Otley were very good and fair play to them; they came here with a game plan and they stuck to it. On the flip side our players adapted very well, they took on the messages at half time and in those conditions they found a way to win.

“From a starting point coming in I think we’ve done well to win today, but there’s a lot of work still to put in.”

Following on from Biljon’s comments, Titans head coach, Gaz Lewis, added:

“Otley clearly tried to upset our rhythm and I think that will be a key theme throughout the season. We had to play territory, we had to control our scrum and our maul and the players listened and adapted and credit to them for finding a way to win.

“We’ve made a few changes in how we want to play, we spoke before the game about taking a breath and understanding there will be things that go wrong at times, but it’s about managing those moments.

The main thing is we found a way to win and we’ll now prepare well for Hull Ionians next week.”

Referee: Daniel Woods

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Taylor (2T), Cole (T), Dunne (T), Poole (T), Hayes (3C, 1P)

Otley:  Holmes (T), Taylor (T), Gaffney (T), Stead (T, 3C, 2P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Harry Dunne (Bustin 50), 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 34) (Capps 73), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 50), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 34) (Denman 65), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Rupert Kay (Okafor 50), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 19 John Okafor, 18 Callum Bustin.  

Otley: 15 Jacob Holmes, 14 Sam Taylor, 13 Gavin Stead, 12 Charlie Metcalf (Martin 55), 11 Clark Wells, 10 Eddie Crossland (Capt.), 9 Rory Gaffney (Eaton 65), 1 George Parker 9 (Bowen 34) (Fontaine 65) (Bowen 76), 2 Leon Mudd, 3 Jason Moss (Baxter 30) (Moss 72), 4 Alex Johnson, 5 Chris Jackson, 6 Nick Fontaine (Gibson 30), 7 Sam Hodge, 8 Ben Waddington.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Gibson, 17 Tom Baxter, 18 George Bowen, 19 Lewis Eaton, 20 Louis Martin.

Sheffield 17 Titans 37

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their deserved 37-17 win over Sheffield on a wet and windy afternoon at Abbeydale Park.

Titans outscored the hosts by 4 tries to 3 and secured the bonus point with dot downs from Dan Rundle, Loma Kivalu, Kareem Eissa and John Okafor, with Lloyd Hayes adding 17 points from the tee.

The win keeps Titans in second place behind Leeds Tykes as the league now goes into a 2-week break, before the resumption with the home game against Otley at Clifton Lane on the 4th of November.

The match itself was a fiercely contested derby with both sides giving everything in what were at times difficult conditions, particularly in the second half when the heavens opened and handling became tricky.

Nevertheless in an entertaining clash it was the Titans who got the scoreboard ticking first when Lloyd Hayes knocked over an early penalty.

Moments later however the home side stormed into the lead when the ball was spun across the backline for centre Charlie Davies to cut through for a try which former Titan Jonny West converted.

Hayes reduced his sides arears on 12 minutes with another 3-pointer, before midway through the half Dan Rundle put Roth ahead with a score in the corner following a sharp pass from Kareem Eissa. It was a lead Rotherham would not relinquish.

Surprisingly for all the attacking intent from both teams there would be no further scores in the half. Indeed it wasn’t until the 56th minute that the scoreboard needed an update when Hayes tagged over his third penalty of the game.

Immediately Sheffield struck back with a fine try that saw the ball move through plenty of hands with some nice offloads for full back Cameron Catleugh to go over. The missed conversion by Elliot Fisher left the game delicately poised at 16-12 to Roth.

Any nerves the Clifton Lane outfit may have had were quickly dispelled as they scored 3 tries in a 12 minute blitz.

Firstly front row forward Loma Kivalu bulldozed his way over from close range, then scrum half Kareem Eissa showed some nifty footwork to dart back inside for a nice score, before John Okafor dived over spectacularly to wrap up the game and secure the bonus point after some impressive work in the build up from Tomasi Tanumi.

Sheffield did have the last word when former Titan Ryan Burrows crashed over in the final play, but ultimately Rotherham deservedly came out on top after putting in a hard-working and resolute performance.

More of these performances will likely be needed throughout the long winter months if Titans are to stay in touch with high-flyers Leeds Tykes.

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

“We are delighted to get the win; I thought the lads were outstanding in the second half and were very dominant. The first half was a bit of a start-stop affair which didn’t allow us to get much momentum, but that changed in the second half.

“We left some scores out there in the first half, but we didn’t panic at half time and we controlled the game in the second half as our pack got on top and we scored a couple of nice tries.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 397

Yellow Card: Smith (Titans)

Titans: Rundle (T), Kivalu (T), Eissa (T), Okafor (T), Hayes (4C, 3P)

Sheffield: Davies (T), Catleugh (T), Burrows (T), West (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 27 Callum Bustin (Tanumi 61), 11 Lewis Winterbottom, 10 Will Milner (Bustin 75), 9 Kareem Eissa, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 34) (Capps 71), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 47), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 34) (Denman 71), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Payne 68), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Marcus Payne, 20 Tomasi Tanumi.  

Sheffield: 15 Cameron Catleugh (West 53), 14 James Flint (Adcock 33) (Flint 40), 13 Charlie Davies, 12 Will Smith, 16 Christian Hooper, 20 Jonny West (Posa 52), 9 Elliot Fisher, 1 Aaron Lonsdale, 2 Rhodri Campbell (Bartlett 40), 22 Jake Hicklin (Rogers 52), 4 Archie Crapper (Adcock 52), 5 Dom Parsons (Capt.), 6 Alex Fawdry (Crapper 75), 7 Jason Hignell (Flinders 52), 8 Ryan Burrows.

Replacements: 23 Reece Bartlett, 3 George Rogers, 24 Charlie Flinders, 21 Matt Adcock, 17 Callum Posa.

Titans 34 Fylde 19

Rotherham Titans maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant 34-19 win over top side Fylde on a warm afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ tries came from Matt Challinor, Tomasi Tanumi, Zak Poole and in the final play of the game a penalty try; with Lloyd Hayes adding 12 points from the tee.

The win keeps Titans in second spot in the table, just 2 points behind leaders Leeds Tykes.

Roth’s performance was their best of the season, particularly in the opening 30 minutes in which they outplayed and outmuscled their illustrious opponents.

Indeed the South Yorkshire men raced into a 14-0 lead inside the opening 7 minutes after a blistering start shook their opponents to their boots.

First up Matt Challinor was on hand to dot down under the sticks following some powerful work from the pack, before Tomasi Tanumi showed good strength to touch down near the corner after some slick handling by the Roth backline.

Titans continued to totally dominate and were probably disappointed that their next score didn’t arrive until 2 minutes before the break.

The third score can be attributed the pack, as from a 5 metre scrum they powerfully marched the Fylde forwards into reverse, allowing skipper and number 8 Zak Poole to finish off.

Fylde are a class side and they were always going to provide a response; this came in the final play of the half when winger Adam Lanigan cut back inside to score after receiving a long miss-pass from Greg Smith.

The second half was a more even affair, but surprisingly the next score didn’t arrive until just before the hour mark when Titans Lloyd Hayes knocked over a penalty.

Fylde looked bright and lively with ball in hand and they picked up their second try when centre Jordan Dorrington went over after two zippy passes sent him in.

Roth nibbled further ahead through a second Lloyd Hayes penalty after which in the final minutes Fylde picked up a third try.

This came through dual-registered Premiership prop forward Tye Raymont, who powered his way over from close range to reduce his sides arrears to 27-19 with Smith’s conversion.

However, if the final play of the match Rotherham secured the bonus point when aptly the pack were awarded a penalty try after a maul was deliberately collapsed on the line. Fylde’s Corey Bowker was yellow carded for his part in the misdemeanour.

The result was an impressive and fully deserved one against a class side and Rotherham can take confidence in the knowledge they can compete and beat the best sides in the division.

The challenges as always come thick and fast; the next game sees a South Yorkshire derby against Sheffield at Abbeydale and again Roth will need to be at their best if they are to give themselves an opportunity to get a result.

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

“We knew it was going to be a competitive game; Fylde finished runners-up last year and they are a good side who play good rugby. They’re always there at the end and we knew it was going to be a big game and we prepared accordingly.

“We were on fire in the first half and if we had gone in at half time 50 points up I don’t think anyone could have complained; we just didn’t take our chances and we had so many of them.

“We were dominant, we were powerful and we are progressing as a team. We talk every week about improving, but we let ourselves down a little bit sometimes because we are not clinical enough.

“However, if we can put a performance like that together for longer periods and take the chances we create, then we are going to blow sides away and we will be a very difficult side to beat.

“Defensively we did really well and we were excellent in the first half, but they are always going to have their 10 minutes because of how they play the game and because they have good players, there is no doubt about that. They’ve probably got 4 of the best players in the league in their side and we respect that.”

Referee: Henry Pearson

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Bustin (Titans), Bowker (Fylde)

Titans: Challinor (T), Tanumi (T), Poole (T), Pen Try, Hayes (3C, 2P)

Fylde: Lanigan (T), Dorrington (T), Raymont (T), Smith (2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Jack Render, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne (Bustin 37), 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 27) (Capps 75), 2 Jack Bergmanas (38), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 27) (Denman 70), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith (Okafor 63), 6 Rupert Kay (Smith 70), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 19 John Okafor, 27 Callum Bustin.  

Fylde: 15 Sam Carleton, 14 Ben Turner, 13 Jordan Dorrington, 12 Tom Carleton, 11 Adam Lanigan, 10 Greg Smith, 9 Ben Gould (Wootton 62), 1 Corey Bowker (Brookes 33) (Bowker 70), 2 Ben Gregory (Capt.), 3 Peter Altham (Raymont 23), 4 Matt Ashcroft, 5 Ethan Hall-Lyon, 6 Toby Harrison, 7 Tane Bentley (Garrod 48), 20 David Fairbrother (Parker 4).

Replacements: 16 Alex Brookes, 18 Tye Raymont, 23 Matt Garrod, 17 Sam Parker, 19 Will Wootton.

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

Titans 22 Durham University 19

Rotherham Titans were made to work exceptionally hard for their 22-19 win over BUCS side Durham University on a warm evening under the lights at Clifton Lane.

The hard-fought victory was fully deserved and it served to complete Roth’s pre-season preparations ahead of the visit of Billingham next Saturday for the start of the National 2 North season.

Titans outscored Durham by 4 tries to 3, with a brace coming for Luke Cole and one each for JB Bruzulier and Charlie Capps; Lloyd Hayes added a conversion.

Full credit must be given to Durham who threatened continuously throughout the game and as expected looked bright and lively as they attacked Roth whenever the opportunity arose.

It wasn’t the Titans finest performance to be fair; the South Yorkshire outfit gave away far too many penalties and too often made mistakes at crucial times in promising positions.

However, what was commendable was the spirit they displayed to find a way to get the win and hopefully that same spirit will give them great optimism for the new campaign ahead.

Two Luke Cole catch and drive tries cancelled out dot downs from Toby Tyson and Jake Spurway for the visitors, as the sides went in at the break level at 12-apiece.

Durham skipper Pat Bishop gave the Uni outfit the lead again just 7 minutes into the second half as he converted his own try; all of which kept the pressure on the home side.

Replacement scrum half JB Bruzulier narrowed the Titans deficit with an unconverted try five minutes later and on the hour mark loosehead prop Charlie Capps nosed his side ahead to make it 22-19.

But rather than kicking on Roth struggled to break the shackles of the north east side, but to be fair the visitors never really had an opportunity to take home the spoils.

So Rotherham ended their pre-season run with a perfect 3 wins from 3 and now their focus will be fully tuned in for the visit of Billingham on Saturday.

Guernsey Raiders 12 Titans 35

Rotherham Titans continued their fine pre-season form with an impressive 35-12 win over Channel Islands based side Guernsey Raiders, on a baking summer’s afternoon at Footes Lane.

Rotherham outscored their hosts by 5 tries to 2, with Laurence Cowan-Leak, Harry Dunne, Gareth Denman, Charlie Capps and Lewis Allan all crossing the whitewash; whilst Lloyd Hayes enjoyed a perfect afternoon with 5 conversions.

The match demonstrated the Titans pack strength throughout a keenly contested affair and one they hope, will stand them in good order for the new season ahead in 2 weeks time.

However it was the hosts who scored first when a clearance kick from Roth was charged down inside their own 22; and following a number of subsequent phases second rower Lewis Hillier bundled his way over.

Indeed Rotherham had to wait until the 21st minute before they got on the board and when it came it did so by way of some powerful work by their impressive pack which saw back rower Laurence Cowan-Leak crash over.

Ten minutes later and Roth extended their lead when this time Harry Dunne joined the pack-party to finish off from close range.

The second half saw Roth increase their superiority and advantage when tight head prop Gareth Denman finished off some more forward dominance.

One the hour mark loose head prop Charlie Capps got in on the act as he too added to his sides tally.

Ten minutes from time Guernsey scored the try of the game through Hugo Culverhouse, when from turnover ball inside their 22 they quickly moved play downfield through a number of hands to dot down.

However, Rotherham had the final say four minutes from time when second rower Lewis Allan was on hand to go over following more good work from the pack.

Titans will now look ahead to finishing their pre-season preparations by welcoming Durham University to Clifton Lane on Friday evening for a 7:30pm kick-off.

Then 7 days later the National 2 North season gets underway with the visit of newly promoted Billingham to Clifton Lane.

Titans 40 Newport Salop 7

Rotherham Titans kicked-off their pre-season campaign with a well-deserved 40-7 victory over Shropshire based side Newport Salop.

Titans outscored Salop by 6 tries to 1 with Zak Poole bagging a brace, whilst there was one try each for Jack Bergmanas, Callum Bustin, Laurence Cowen-Leak and Rupert Kay. Lloyd Hayes knocked over 5 conversions for his 10-point tally.

The game was played out in three 25 minute periods with both sides performing well considering it was the first run-out of pre-season.

Newport finished 10th in National League 2 West last term following promotion to the National leagues and their aim is to make the top half of the table this time around.

The game itself saw Rotherham start brightly as they raced into a 14-0 lead just after 10 minutes with catch and drives being finished off by skipper Zak Poole and hooker Jack Bergmanas.

On 20 minutes Roth had their third try when Callum Bustin showed terrific pace and power as he collected a nice inside pass from scrum half Kareem Eissa; the converted back rower charged almost 50 metres to smash his way over next to the sticks.

The second period saw Salop come into the game a little more; culminating in a deserved try from hooker Kev Raqio as he picked up from the base of a ruck to barge his way over.

Rotherham soon hit back however with a further two tries in this period. Laurence Cowan-Leak went in for a powerful try following a spell of forward pressure on the line, before Poole popped up on the right wing to dart over in the corner for his second try of the game.

Remarkably there was only one score in the final period and it came in the last play of the match; but what a try it was!

Following turnover ball in the Titans 22 a counter-attack was mounted and after multiple phases and 11 passes Rupert Kay collected to dot down in the corner.

Lloyd Hayes nailed an excellent conversion from the touchline to make it 5 out of 6 successful kicks.

Next up for the Titans is a trip to the Channel Islands when they take on National League 2 East side Guernsey Raiders on Saturday.

Sheffield Tigers 10 Titans 40

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding performance as they beat local rivals Sheffield Tigers 40-10 on a wet afternoon at Dore Moor.

Titans outscored their near-neighbours by 5 tries to 1 with scores coming via a brace from Danny Rylance and one each for Sam Veall, Theo Nwosu-Hope and Matt Challinor, with Lloyd Hayes adding 15 points from the tea.

Hayes’s tally from the game ensured he ended the season with the accolade of being the leading point’s scorer in the division.

With Titans having lost the reverse fixture at Clifton Lane earlier in the season, there was a sense of wanting to even the score going into this one and Rotherham certainly put in a motivated and powerful performance to finish their campaign in some style.

The game started as expected with both sides showing plenty of enthusiasm for the task ahead, but it was Roth who nosed ahead on 7 minutes when Lloyd Hayes knocked over a penalty.

Roth soon stamped their authority on the match though, with their pack in particular showing good dominance both at the set piece and in the loose.

However, when Roth’s first try came it was from scrum half Sam Veal. The acting half back showed great awareness and guile to snipe over from the base of a ruck. Hayes’ successful conversion secured him as the division’s leading point’s scorer for the season.

Ten minutes later and Roth increased their lead when tight head prop Danny Rylance dotted down from a catch and drive close to the line.

Just before the break Tigers did get on the board when fly half Mark Ireland knocked over a penalty.

Following the half time oranges Rotherham started the second period just as strong as the first and inside two minutes had their third try when second rower Theo Nwosu-Hope showed great determination to power his way over.

Hayes converted and followed up with two further penalties to stretch his side’s lead to 28-3.

However, no game between these two teams would be the same without a try from former Titan and Tigers centre Jamie Broadley and just before the hour mark Jamie raced through for his usual dot down under the posts.

Unfortunately for the home side this success was not a catalyst for a comeback as seven minutes later Danny Rylance collected the ball from the tail of a line-out before racing through to score.

The final try of the game came shortly after when Roth’s Matt Challinor collected the ball five metres out before bulldozing his way over with Tigers defenders hanging from him.

The result ensured Rotherham finished the season with six straight wins and following Otley confirming their last game of the season Vs Blaydon wouldn’t take place, Roth secured a fourth place finish in the table.

Speaking after the game Titans Gary Pearce said:

“We knew this was going to be a special game because it’s a local derby and when you get beat in the first one it should motivate you to do better in the next one and all credit to the lads for turning it around today.

“The scoreboard didn’t flatter us at all and the margin of victory should have been much wider; I knew in our warm-up the lads really wanted it and they played ridiculously well and fully deserved the win.

“We weren’t as clinical as we could have been at times, we got a bit excited at overplaying, but it’s the end of the season and you can’t stop them trying to play a bit of rugby. You want them to play, but to also respect the ball.

“In the second half we came out and just blew them away in the first 20 minutes with our power and overall we are really pleased with how the game went.

“I have to give a mention to Lloyd Hayes on his achievement of topping the scoring charts in the division. He’s incredibly accurate off the tee and he doesn’t miss many and all credit to him for what he’s done this year; we are very proud of him.”

Referee: Gavin Jones

Attendance: 365

Yellow Card: Rylance (Titans)

Titans: Rylance (2T), Veall (T), Nwosu-Hope (T), Challinor (T), Hayes (3C, 3P)

Sheffield Tigers: Broadley (T), Ireland (1C, 1P)

Titans: 15 Tomasi Tanumi, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Harry Dunne, 18 Callum Bustin, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue (Denman 54) (Sableman-Blue 64) (Taylor 69), 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 Sam Veall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 57), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Capps 68), 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 30), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Lewis Allan (Tucker 76), 7 Marcus Payne (Godden 68), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 12 Aydan Godden, 17 Alastair Donkor, 27 Danny Rylance, 19 Jack Taylor, 21 George Tucker.    

Sheffield Tigers: 15 Will Baker, 14 Michael Graham (Miller-Pickering 71), 13 Jamie Broadley, 12 Sam Wager, 11 Curtis Wilson (Chapman 18), 10 Mark Ireland, 9 Ryan Holmes (Capt,), 1 Sim Meek, 17 Will Archer (Townsend 41), 3 Nick Bingham (Cone 78), 4 Joe Fitzsimons, 5 Dan Hawksworth (Cartwright 48), 6 Connor Scott, 7 Angus Hughes, 8 Josh Redfern.  

Replacements: 16 Charlie Cone, 2 Louis Townsend, 18 Harry Cartwright, 19 Harry Chapman, 20 Tyler Miller-Pickering.

Harrogate 17 Titans 45

Rotherham Titans made it five successive league wins with a dominant 45-17 win over Harrogate on a bright afternoon at Rudding Lane.

Rotherham outscored their hosts by seven tries to three with score’s coming via a hat trick for skipper Zak Poole and one each for Gareth Denman, Luckas Sableman-Blue, Matt Challinor and Harry Dunne, with Sam Veall adding 10 points from the tee.

The victory guarantees Rotherham at least fifth place in the league, which following their mid-season slump can be seen as a positive to take into next season.

The game itself was largely dominated by the South Yorkshire side, but it wasn’t until the 15th minute that they got the scoreboard ticking when skipper Zak Poole dotted down from a catch and drive close to the line.

Poole added a second shortly after, when following a number of phases inside the host’s 22, he showed great strength and determination to crash over next to the sticks. Sam Veall added the extras.

A now rampant Rotherham added to their tally just before the half hour mark when prop forward Gareth Denman dotted down in the corner from a driving maul.

Before half time the bonus point was secured in scintillating style when winger Luckas Sableman-Blue collected the ball on halfway from Callum Bustin; he then proceeded to show great footwork as he raced past three defenders to score a lovely try. Veall knocked over the extras.

The second half was a more even affair, although Titans wasted little time in adding to their score when lock forward Matt Challinor dotted down from a maul after just 4 minutes. Veall converted.

Three minutes later and after good carries from Alastair Donkor and Marcus Payne in the build-up, Sam Veall popped a nice pass to Zak Poole on the edge of the 22 for him to gallop home to score under the posts. Veall’s conversion made it 38-0.

To be fair to Harrogate they never stopped trying and their efforts gained some reward on 54 and 66 minutes respectively when winger Will Yates and replacement centre Harrison Walker both crossed the whitewash. Fly half Tom Steene successfully converted the first.

Two minutes from the end of normal time Harry Dunne, who had a good game playing out of position in the fly half shirt, scored Titans seventh try of the match when he received a pass from Sam Veall to dive over in the corner. Veall impressed with his conversion from out wide.

The last word however came for the hosts when skipper Sam Brady picked up from the base and dived over in the final play of the game.

Nevertheless Rotherham can be pleased with their efforts on the day and can take confidence from the fine form they are currently enjoying. They will now prepare diligently for the final game of the season away to local rivals Sheffield Tigers on Saturday.

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

“We had some late changes in key positions, with Sam at nine and Harry at ten and they both did really well. We scored seven tries and probably left another four out there, but I have to give Harrogate a lot of credit as they stuck in there throughout the game.

“We are always pleased to get a win away from home; we picked up the bonus point and we made it five wins on the trot which always helps in terms of confidence. Our defence was good, but we were a little disappointed to concede the try at the end, when we probably should have scored at the other end moments earlier.

“However, overall it was very positive, the lads are really putting in the effort and with us being down to the bare bones; there’s a few of them playing out of position, but they’re still putting in good performances.

“As a group we have got stronger, of course winning always helps as that gives you more confidence. We have put a lot of emphasis on our structure defensively with Clive (Griffiths) and that has helps us along too.”

Referee: Dan Woods

Attendance: 275

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Poole (3T), Denman (T), Sableman-Blue (T), Challinor (T), Dunne (T), Veall (5C)

Harrogate: H Yates (T), Walker (T), Brady (T), Steene (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Taylor, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 18 Callum Bustin, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue (Tucker 69), 10 Harry Dunne, 9 Sam Veall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 27) (Rylance 69), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Capps 51), 3 Danny Rylance (Denman 27), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Marcus Payne (Cambier 51), 12 Aydan Godden, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Rupert Kay, 17 Alastair Donkor, 30 Gareth Denman, 27 Cade Cambier, 21 George Tucker.   

Harrogate: 15 Charles Buckley, 14 Rupert Scrase, 13 Will Rawlinson (Walker 48), 12 Harry Yates, 11 Will Yates, 10 Tom Steene (Rawlinson 55), 9 Ben Raubitschek (Fox 73), 1 Jacob Percival (Baxter 65), 2 Steven Maycock, 3 Tom Baxter (Elsayed 41), 4 Sam Fenn (Jones 41), 5 Sam Brady (Capt.), 6 Martin Dodds, 7 Will Hill (Jackson 53) (Fenn 70), 8 Thomas Spencer-Jones.  

Replacements: 17 Seifeldin Elsayed, 18 Chris Jackson, 16 Greg Jones, 19 Harrison Walker, 21 Sam Fox.

Titans 38 Preston Grasshoppers 7

Rotherham Titans put in an impressive performance as they ran out convincing 38-7 winners over Preston Grasshoppers on a mild afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored their North West opponents by 6 tries to 1 with their tries coming via a brace from Jack Hedley, a penalty try and one each for Lewis Allan, Jack Bergmanas and Zak Poole, with Lloyd Hayes adding 6 points from the tea.

The victory was the first time Rotherham had put 4 successive wins together all season and adds to their strong finish to the season. They will now aim to make it five on the spin in their next outing away to Harrogate.

This game was expected to be a much tighter affair as Grasshoppers came to Clifton Lane in good form and having beaten the Titans at their place earlier in the season and whilst the visitors did put in a valiant shift, Rotherham never looked like relinquishing control at any stage of the match.

Indeed Roth took the initiative and the lead as early as the 2nd minute when winger Jack Hedley broke down the right hand side; he then exchanged passes with Zak Poole before diving over for a nice score. Lloyd Hayes’s conversion unfortunately hit the left upright.

Despite dominating the opening exchanges of a scrappy affair, it wasn’t until after the half hour mark that Roth added to their tally, when a powerful scrum close to the line was illegally disrupted and referee Ben Davies quite rightly awarded a penalty try.

Almost from the restart Titans had their third try when back rower Lewis Allan picked-up from the base and dived over underneath the posts. Hayes added the extras to give his side a 19-0 half time lead.

The second period followed the pattern of the first with Rotherham controlling much of what went on and they secured the bonus point try just before the hour mark when hooker Jack Bergmanas dotted down from a catch and drive close to the line. Hayes impressed with his conversion from the touchline to make it 26-0.

To be fair to Hoppers they never stopped trying and they deservedly got something for their efforts shortly after when winger Will Clapham finished off after a nice chip through from fly half Will Hunt. The latter added the extras from in front to the posts.

Five minutes later however and normal service was resumed when Titans skipper Zak Poole powered over in the corner following a slick pass from Lloyd Hayes, although the latter was unsuccessful withy the conversion.

Nevertheless, three minutes from time Rotherham put the icing on the cake when a lovely inside pass from Lloyd Hayes found Jack Hedley who raced through to score under the sticks for a converted try.

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

“We were pleased with parts of our game, but we’re not getting carried away as we know we still have a lot of work to do.

“I though Sam Veall had a good game at scrum half; I don’t think he’s worn that shirt since he was about 11 years-old. And whilst Lloyd had a good game at 10, that’s not his best position and I’d prefer him being a bit wider where he can be even more effective.

“I think at times we tried to play too much rugby, too quickly, but to outscore your opposition by 6 tries to 1 is not a bad effort. I thought we left a few more points out there, but from where we’ve come in a relatively short space of time and to have now won four on the trot is something we can be pleased with.”

Referee: Ben Davis

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Poole (Titans), Swarbrick (Preston)

Red Card: Mabaya (Preston)

Titans: Hedley (2T), Allan (T), Bergmanas (T), Poole (T), Penalty Try, Hayes (3C)

Preston Grasshoppers: Clapham (T), Hunt (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Taylor, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Harry Dunne, 28 Callum Bustin, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue (Tucker 57), 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 Sam Veall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 30) (Capps 49), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Godden 62), 3 Danny Rylance (Denman 27) (Rylance 49) (Denman 68), 4 Matt Challinor (Donkor 72), 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Lewis Allan, 7 Marcus Payne (Cambier 57), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 23 Aydan Godden, 17 Alastair Donkor, 29 Gareth Denman, 27 Cade Cambier, 21 George Tucker.   

Preston Grasshoppers: 15 Jacob Browne, 14 Will Clapham, 13 Harry Swarbrick, 12 Ed Kehoane (Pearson 54), 11 Tyler Spence (Orry 48), 10 Will Hunt (Kehoane 68), 9 Harry Moulding (Capt.) (Squirrell 54), 1 Oga Mabaya, 2 Olli Trippier (Thompson 40), 3 Matt Woodward, 4 Ewan Naylor, 5 Ally Murray, 6 Will Riley (Norrington 19), 7 Josh Longson, 8 Scott Richardson.

Replacements: 16 Harry Thompson, 17 George Orry, 18 Dec Norrington, 19 Jake Squirrell, 20 Ben Pearson. 

Chester 28 Titans 38

Rotherham Titans massively impressed as they beat Chester 38-28 on bright but cool afternoon at Hare Lane.

Rotherham outscored the home side by 6 tries to 3, with tries from Danny Rylance, Jack Taylor, Tomasi Tanumi, Callum Bustin, Zak Poole and Jack Hedley, with Lloyd Hayes adding 8 points from the tee.

The win moves Rotherham on to 65 points alongside Chester in the league, although Roth have played a game less and a strong finish to the season could see them end up in fifth spot, which after a mid-season slump would give everyone at the club some optimism for next season.

The game itself was an entertaining affair which saw the home side take the lead as early as the third minute when centre James Hampson raced through to dot down for Liam Reeve to convert.

Shortly afterwards however Rotherham levelled matters when a powerful drive from a line out was finished off by tighthead prop Danny Rylance; Lloyd Hayes maintained his push to become the league’s leading points scorer with the conversion.

The game wasn’t ten minutes old when Chester retook the lead after Liam Reeve’s accurate cross-field kick was expertly gathered by winger Ben Ivory who dotted down in the corner for an unconverted try.

Relative calmness followed as the next score didn’t arrive until the 23rd minute when a lovely chip over the top from Titans Lloyd Hayes was neatly collected by winger Jack Taylor to score a nice try.

The final score of the first 40 came before the half hour mark when Roth switched the direction of play in midfield before an interchange of passes between Tomasi Tanumi and Jack Taylor saw the former gallop through to score near the post for Hayes to convert and send Roth in at the break with a 19-12 lead.

The second period saw the hosts start much the brighter and a succession of penalties were conceded by Titans which resulted in Liam Reeve adding three kicks from the tee to give his side a 21-19 advantage.

Another flurry of scores was set to follow; on the hour mark Titans regained the lead when Callum Bustin collected and found a gap in the defence to charge through for a converted try, before 3 minutes later Chester back rower Kyle Joseph dotted down following a catch and drive close to the line.

However, five minutes later Rotherham retook the lead for the third time when skipper Zak Poole showed amazing strength to score following a break-off from a scrum close to the line. Lloyd Hayes converted to make it 33-28.

The game was finally wrapped up for Roth in the final play of the match when Chester coughed-up the ball whilst looking to snatch the game at the death. The lost ball was gathered and eventually found its way into the hands of winger Jack Hedley who showed good pace to score in the corner to seal an impressive and entertaining win for the South Yorkshire side.

Titans now have a week off for Ester before they welcome Preston Grasshoppers to Clifton Lane for their final home game of the season, before two away games at Harrogate and Sheffield Tigers, with the latter now being confirmed for the 29th of April.

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

“I was really pleased with the lads, they showed a lot of effort and commitment and they played really well in parts. We know we have a lot of things to work on, but to come to Chester with their home record as it is and to get a bonus point win is an outstanding result.

“Chester are a good side, they battled very hard and they are a difficult team to beat on their own patch and I’m proud of the lads for the shift they have put in. We asked the lads to work hard and to put in a committed performance and that’s what they did and they can be very proud of themselves.

“We carried the ball really well when we got into the danger zones and we were powerful when we needed to be. I thought everyone played their part; I thought Danny Rylance had a great game, as did Zak Poole and Matt Challinor and I thought Sam Veall cleared up well at times and both the Jack’s on the wings looked quick when their turned on the gas.

“We know we’re not a bad side; we just have to make sure we put it together when it matters and that’s what the lads did today. We just have to keep it going now so we can finish off the season with some good performances for our supporters.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 480

Yellow Card: Challinor (Titans), Lewtas & Long (Chester)

Titans: Rylance (T), Taylor (T), Tanumi (T), Bustin (T), Poole (T), Hedley (T), Hayes (4C)

Chester: Hampson (T), Ivory (T), Joseph (T), Reeve (2C, 3P)

Titans: 15 Lloyd Hayes, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Joe Carlisle (Veall 14), 9 Kai Ramrattan (Allan 65), 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 20), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Danny Rylance, 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Marcus Payne (Bustin 49), 7 Rupert Kay, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 23 Aydan Godden, 17 Alastair Donkor, 16 Lewis Allan, 27 Callum Bustin, 20 Sam Veall.   

Chester: 15 Gethin Long, 14 Ben Ivory, 13 Jorge Lewtas, 12 James Hampson, 11 Sean Green (Craven 65), 10 Liam Reeve, 9 Tom Holloway, 1 Josh Woods (Croft 67), 2 Scott Robson (Woods 75), 3 Tom Furnival (Williams 67), 4 Harry Wilkinson (Capt.), 5 Mike Byrne (Freschini 66), 6 Kyle Joseph, 7 Shaun Owen (Lloyd 66), 8 Luke Cox.

Replacements: 17 Alick Croft, 18 Wade Williams, 19 Jimmy Lloyd, 20 Leo Freschini, 21 Charlie Craven.

Titans 28 Otley 21

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding effort to beat Otley 28-21 and secure the bonus point on a blustery afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ four tries came from Danny Rylance, Zak Poole, Jack Taylor and Tomasi Tanumi, with Lloyd Hayes adding 8 points from the tee.

As the old cliché goes it was a game of two halves, with the wind playing a huge part in what went on throughout the match. Titans went in at the break with a 17-0 lead and then it was a case of holding on as the expected comeback from Otley was mounted.

Rotherham took their time to get the scoreboard moving, as the visitors defended with all their might in the early exchanges. However on 18 minutes a powerful catch and drive close to the line saw tight head prop Danny Rylance crash over. Hayes narrowly missed the extras from out wide.

Ten minutes later and Roth’s inspirational skipper Zak Poole took a quick tap-penalty and proceed to bundle his way over with two Otley defenders hanging off him. Hayes added the extras.

As half time drew near Rotherham knew they would need at least one more score if they were to have any chance of protecting their lead in the second half, as the blustery wind picked up its pace.

Titans had created a number of opportunities prior to this, but for various reasons were unable to add to their tally.

However in the final play of the half scrum half Kai Ramrattan cleverly chipped a lovely ball through the Otley defence for winger Jack Taylor to collect in his stride, before stepping back inside to score for an unconverted try.

Following the half time oranges Rotherham made a bright and crucial start to the second half when centre Tomasi Tanumi touched down in the corner after good work in the build up from Zak Poole and Lloyd Hayes, although the latter narrowly missed the extras from out wide.

The expected comeback from Otley began before the hour mark when they scored two tries in three minutes through centres Clark Wells and Gavin Stead, with the latter converting both from in front of the posts.

On 64 minutes Lloyd Hayes settled the Titans nerves with a penalty, but the relief lasted only 3 minutes before the impressive Ben Waddington touched down for the visitors to narrow his side’s deficit to 25-21.

You could feel the nerviness around the ground as Otley went in search of a late score that would seal a dramatic comeback for them.

However, four minutes from time Lloyd Hayes knocked over another penalty and Rotherham held out for a deserved win over their Yorkshire rivals.

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

"We haven't played for three weeks and we were ring rusty. We scored a lot of points in the first half, but we should have scored a lot more; we probably left 15 or 20 points out there, and that always makes a game of it.

“Otley are fourth in the league for a reason. They're a decent side and have plenty of confidence, but our defence got better through the second half.

"It's just good to get a game in, and I'm sure we'll be better for it.

"To mark centenary week with a win is also good for the club. It's onwards and upwards for us now, that's what we're looking for."

Referee: Dave Charlton

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Rylance (T), Poole (T), Taylor (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (C, 2P)

Otley:  Wells (T), Waddington (T), Stead (T, 3C)

Titans: 15 Lloyd Hayes, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Tomasi Tanumi (Veall 45), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Sableman-Blue 60), 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Kai Ramrattan, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Danny Rylance (Donkor 29) (Rylance 60), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Lewis Allan, 7 Marcus Payne, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Tom Richardson, 17 Alastair Donkor, 18 Cade Cambier, 19 Sam Veall, 20 Luckas Sableman-Blue.   

Otley: 15 Charles Morgan, 14 Duncan Darling, 13 Clark Wells, 12 Gavin Stead, 11 Elliot Morgan, 10 Edward Crossland, 9 Rory Gaffney (Wickham 53), 1 Ethan Thiart (Nicholls 63), 2 Luke Cole, 3 Reece Ward (Moss 31) (Ward 72), 4 Adam Malthouse (Capt.), 5 Simon Willet (Gibson 53), 6 Dan Preston-Routledge, 7 Sam Hodge, 8 Sam Waddington.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Gibson, 17 Billy Nicholls, 18 Jason Moss, 19 Alex Johnson, 20 Philip Wickham.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Titans 36 Sheffield 26

Rotherham Titans returned to winning ways with an impressive 36-26 win over local rivals Sheffield on a cold afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored the Abbeydale outfit by 5 tries to 4, with Corben Ollivent, Callum Bustin and a penalty try, with Lloyd Hayes grabbing a brace and also adding 11 points from the tee.

The win completes the double over Sheffield for this season, as Titans won 39-14 at Abbeydale Park back in early November.

This one however was a closer, more even affair, although Titans thoroughly deserved their bonus-point victory.

Indeed Rotherham started the game much the brighter and raced into a 12-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes following tries from Corben Ollivent and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter converting his own try.

Sheffield however demonstrated plenty of grit and determination as you would expect in a South Yorkshire derby and a quick-fire brace of tries from scrum half Elliot Fisher and winger Christian Hooper just after the half hour mark, put them ahead 14-12.

Nevertheless, Rotherham maintained their composure despite the shock of conceding two quick scores and they continued to edge matters, whilst Sheffield always looked dangerous with the ball in hand, as they looked to counter whenever the opportunity arose.

Just before half time Roth were awarded a penalty try as Sheffield skipper Alex Fawdry was yellow carded for illegally preventing a Titans try in the corner.

After the break and despite Rotherham enjoying the better moments it was Sheffield who scored next through the lively Elliot Fisher, after he supported a break to run in under the sticks. Fisher then converted to put his side back ahead. This was the fourth time the lead had changed hands.

Ten minutes later, the lead changed again for the final time when Titans Callum Bustin powered and bulldozed his way over following a good period of possession from the pack. Lloyd Hayes’ conversion put Roth 26-21 to the good.

Six minutes from time Titans eased their nerves somewhat when Lloyd Hayes knocked over a penalty to stretch the lead to 8 points.

And when a minute later Hayes also crossed for a converted try in “Plants Corner” the game was effectively wrapped up.

Fair play to Sheffield however, as in the final play of the game Fisher crossed the whitewash to secure both his hat trick and a losing bonus point for his side.

Rotherham will have been delighted with the win, especially with it being a South Yorkshire derby and they will now prepare hard for another South Yorkshire derby against Sheffield Tigers next Saturday at Dore More; KO 3pm.

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

“We scored five tries and could have scored ten if I’m honest. I’m disappointed we weren’t more clinical but it’s a derby game, we’re coming to the end of the season, the grounds are hardening up and everyone wants to play a little bit more.

“We just got a little bit too excited at times. If we’d been a bit more patient we’d have scored a few more.

“I’m still pleased. There were quite a lot of good performances across the park and we have plenty of enthusiasm in the team. It was a win at home with five points and we’ll take that and move on.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Poole (Titans)

Titans: Ollivent (T), Bustin (T), Penalty try, Hayes (2T, 3C, P)

Sheffield: Hooper (T), Fisher (3T, 3C)

Titans: 15 Lloyd Hayes, 14 Corben Ollivent, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 28 Callum Bustin (Payne 74), 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Connor Dever (Boxhall 68), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Richardson 79), 3 Danny Rylance (Donkor 65), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Marcus Payne (Allan 55), 7 Rupert Kay (Dunne 31), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Tom Richardson, 17 Alastair Donkor, 18 Lewis Allan, 19 Harry Dunne, 21 Sam Boxhall.   

Sheffield: 15 Alfie Kimpton, 14 Ieuan Cooke (Crapper 38) (Cooke 49) (Hignell 59) (Taylor 75), 13 Will Taylor (Douglas 72), 12 Will Smith, 16 Christian Hooper, 10 Callum Posa, 9 Elliot Fisher, 1 Ben Whitney, 18 Jude Noble, 3 George Rogers (Hicklin 20), 4 Dave Clayden (Crapper 59), 5 Dom Parsons, 6 Alex Fawdry (Capt.), 7 Matt Adcock, 8 Ryan Burrows.

Replacements: 22 Jake Hicklin, 24 Will Booth, 21 Archie Crapper, 20 Jason Hignell, 17 Kaj Douglas.