Darlington Mowden Park 28 Titans 45

Rotherham Titans impressed in week 2 of National 1 with a 45-28 win over Darlington Mowden Park on a sunny afternoon at the Darlington Arena.

Titans outscored the hosts by 6 tries to 4 with a brace of dot downs for both Zak Poole and Callum Bustin, with Ronni Du Randt and Harry Newborn also crossing the whitewash. Lloyd Hayes sealed a perfect afternoon from the tee with 15 points.

The key to the game was Titans blistering start which saw them race into a 21-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Titans powerful pack laid the foundations as Zak Poole and Callum Bustin bulldozed over for the opening two tries.

This was quickly followed by full back Ronnie Du Randt cutting through to dot down.

A shell shocked Park were forced into making a couple of changes and this lead to former Titan Garry Law coming on in the 23rd minute.

Park worked themselves back into the contest and got on the board when live-wire scrum half Ben Douglas broke through to score.

Rotherham however were in no mood to take their foot off the pedal.

Lloyd Hayes extended Rotherham’s advantage shortly after with a 3-pointer from the tee, before in the final play of the half Harry Newborn secured the bonus point as he finished off after good work from Travis Gideon.

The second half saw the home side make the game a far more even affair.

Indeed, two quick tries after the restart from Ben Douglas and Ollie Walker narrowed Park’s deficit to 31-21 to give them hope of a remarkable comeback.

Sparked back into life however, Rotherham snuffed out the home sides hopes quickly as Bustin and Poole both barged over to effectively wrap up the game.

Credit to Park though, they never gave up and a minute from time they grabbed a deserved bonus point when centre Ben Frankland dotted down.

Rotherham can be delighted, if a little surprised, with their start in National 1 as two wins from their opening two games sees them just a point behind leaders Rams.

The focus will now switch to next Saturday’s home encounter against fellow promoted side Esher at Clifton Lane.

Speaking after the game Harvey Biljon reflected:

“I am absolutely delighted that we have come away from home with a really tough test and got five points; that for this team is a brilliant achievement.

“I think there’ll be a fair bit of learning on how competitive this league is; Darlington did not give up and they thoroughly deserved their four tries and the bonus point.

“At the same time we’ve got to learn not to give those up; there was probably a couple of passes in the first and second half where I think if we can get that right on the pitch, we can make further improvement.

“We have said from the beginning that this is a squad performance and yes we do have a long injury list, but it’s great to see the squad come together and still travel in the right direction and be able to step in and stick to task around what the team is trying to achieve.

“It was great to see those guys come in today; Travis Gideon, James Naylor and Ben Copley all did a great job. Hopefully they’ve got a taste for it and want to keep on taking this club in the right direction.

At this early stage I think we are exceeding expectation, but let’s try and ride the wave as long as we can; we know it’s not going to be easy and we have an even bigger test coming up next in Esher, but let’s try and enjoy the journey and keep improving.”

Titans: Poole (2T), Bustin (2T), Du Randt (T), Newborn (T), Hayes (6C, 1P)

Darlington Mowden Park: Douglas (2T), Walker (T), Frankland (T), Law (4C)

Yellow Card: Newborn (Titans)

Attendance: 712

Referee: Ben Rayner

Assistant Referees: Brendan Fitzmaurice & Simon Williams

Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Travis Gideon, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier (Naylor 67), 1 Charlie Capps (Co-Capt.) (Kivalu 32) (Capps 58) (Kivalu 32) , 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 45), 3 Andrew Foster (Stout 32) (Foster 58) (Stout 78), 4 Zak Poole (Co-Capt.), 5 Curran Maguire, 6 Ben Copley (Allan 62), 7 Harry Newborn, 8 Callum Bustin (Copley 67).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Rikki Stout, 19 Lewis Allan, 20 James Naylor.

Darlington Mowden Park: 15 Josh Ree, 14 Ollie Walker, 13 Liam Checksfield, 12 Ben Frankland, 11 Ewan Greenlaw, 10 Harry Read (Law23), 9 Ben Douglas, 1 Alfie Barron, 2 Sam Kyle-Clay (Harrison 64), 3 Eoin Harrison (Fantini 23), 4 Oscar Usher (Hall-Lyon 62), 5 Louis Peacock, 6 Max Fraine (Oliver 62), 7 Will Jones (Capt.) (Fraine 78), 8 Joe Craggs.

Replacements: 16 Jacob Oliver, 17 Ethan Hall-Lyon, 18 Yaree Fantini, 19 Garry Law, 20 Callum Trees.

Titans 31 Rosslyn Park 21

Rotherham Titans made a dream start on their return to National 1 with a hard-fought, but well-deserved 31-21 win over a very good Rosslyn Park side.

Titans shared a 6-try thriller with their dot downs coming via Luke Cole, John Okafor and Callum Bustin, whilst Lloyd Hayes added 16 points from the tee.

The downside for Rotherham was back rower Travis Gordon and centre Joe Mounsey both left the field with nasty looking injuries.

The game was very competitive and close throughout; the visitors showed an appetite to play with ball in hand, whilst Rotherham stayed very controlled, allowing their powerful pack to set-up a dominant platform to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Indeed, Titans registered the first points of the game when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the base of a maul and when Lloyd Hayes added a penalty just before the 20-minute mark, the home side would have been content with their start to Nat 1.

Rosslyn Park have been touted as one of the favourites to win the league and as any good side would, they bounced back quickly as hooker Jasper Cameron powered over for Stefan James to convert.

The intensity was high from both teams and in the space of 2 minutes around the half-hour mark both sides scored again.

John Okafor showed good awareness close to the line to pick up and dive over, whilst Park’s former Titan Charlie Mulchrone, took one of his trademark quick tap-penalties to break and send in full back Joe Luca Smith.

Just before the break Hayes sent over another penalty and the home side went in at the break leading 20-14.

Rosslyn took the lead in the game for the first time early after the restart when that man Mulchrone popped up again to score himself; James added the extras.

Now Rotherham would be examined and their mentality put to the test; the outcome of which was a resounding pass!

Firstly, Hayes nosed Rotherham back into the lead with his third penalty, before on 65 minutes back rower Callum Bustin dotted down following a hugely powerful maul from the impressive pack.

Trailing 28-21 there was a tense finish to the game as Rosslyn Park went in search of a converted try to level the match.

Rotherham however, stood firm and with great intensity kept out the visitors, eventually going on in injury time to grab a late Hayes penalty and deny Park any reward for their spirited efforts.

Rotherham will now quickly regroup, dust themselves down and switch focus to next week’s assignment away at Darlington Mowden Park.

After the game Titans’ Harvey Biljon said:

“The team had to step up to some adversity through the first game of the season after losing a big player like Travis Gordon inside the first 10 minutes. Your team needs to adapt to that pretty quickly and they did that well.

“There were a couple of key areas I need to commend the team on, particularly how they stuck to task, because you could see how dangerous Rosslyn Park was. They had three or four opportunities in the first half and they scored with two of them.

“You can see that we’re going to have to get used to the physicality and fitness in this league, because through the back end of the game there was some real effort required and from a conditioning point of view we were really tested.

“Rosslyn Park just kept coming at us; if you look at their team on paper compared to ours, I think anyone with any rugby understanding would not have put Rotherham in the equation.

“However, being at Clifton Lane with the support base we have here made a big difference. I think that what’s sport is all about – having days like today – and today was a good day for the club!”

Titans: Cole (T), Okafor (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (2C, 4P)

Rosslyn Park: Cameron (T), Joe Luca Smith (T), Mulchrone (T) James (3C)

Yellow Card: JB Bruzulier (Titans)

Attendance: 250

Referee: Matt Sharpe

Assistant Referees: Ian Farrell & Matt Daubney

Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Joe Mounsey (Green 60), 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Co-Capt.) (Kivalu 32) (Capps 53), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 40), 3 Andrew Foster (Stout 32) (Foster 53), 4 Zak Poole (Co-Capt.), 5 Curran Maguire (Kivalu 68), 6 John Okafor, 7 Travis Gordon (Newborn 8), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Rikki Stout, 19 Harry Newborn, 20 Max Green. 

Rosslyn Park: 15 Joe Luca Smith, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Theo Manihera, 12 Matt Gordon, 11 Benji Marfo, 10 Stefan James (Smith 68), 9 Charlie Mulchrone (Capt.) (Fenley 68), 1 Josh Pieterse (Cade 21) (Charalambous 68), 2 Jasper Cameron, 3 Rhys Charalambous (Woodward 53), 4 Gregor Gillanders, 5 Jordan Martin, 6 Matt Bolwell, 7 Archie Hoskin, 8 Jack Digby (Stevenson 55).

Replacements: 16 Conrad Cade, 17 Matt Woodward, 18 Craig Stevenson, 19 Ewan Fenley, 20 Luc Smith.

Photo: Gareth Siddons

Titans 41 Durham University 17

Rotherham Titans were made to graft hard for their 41-17 win over a bright and lively Durham University side on a warm evening at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored their opponents by seven tries to three and brought their pre-season campaign to a conclusion with a perfect 3 wins from 3 games.

Now the focus will shift sharply to next week’s National 1 opener at home to Rosslyn Park.

Durham provided a stern test in this final run out with their energy and enthusiasm keeping the home side on their toes, particularly in a competitive first half which saw the sides share 6 tries and go in at the break level at 17-17.

Titans scores came from winger Tainne Finn who dotted down in the corner following a huge miss-pass from Max Green, fullback Jack Townend scored next after bursting through and racing in from 30 metres and Ellis Thomas powered over from the tail of a driving maul.

The second half, though still competitive, saw Rotherham get on top and go on to score a further four tries, whilst managing to deny Durham adding to their first half tally.

A brace of powerful tries from Callum Bustin extended the lead, before Tomasi Tanumi skipped over in the right-hand corner and late on John Okafor did the same in the opposite corner.

The victory although hard-fought was well deserved and the coaching staff got to see a number of players get some valuable game time.

Following the match Titans Matt Smith explained:

“Massive credit to Durham University, they turned up again and gave us a really hard game, as we knew they would.

“I thought there were periods in the game where we looked good, that was when we stuck to process and we were all on the same page and that meant we scored in little flurries.

“But there were other times in the game where we were very frustrating, we were playing in the wrong areas and people were going off-script.

“Although we put 40-points on a team I think we all came away a little bit frustrated and that’s because we know there was so much more we could have done in the game, especially as we were so dominant up front.”

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tainne Finn, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Corben Ollivent, 11 Will Wood, 10 Charlie Metcalf, 9 Max Green, 1 Zach Toerien, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Alastair Donkor, 4 Harry Gilson-Fox, 5 Callum Russell, 6 Ellis Thomas, 7 Ben Copley, 8 Travis Gordon (Capt.).

Replacements: Loma Kivalu, Luke Cole, Andrew Foster, Lewis Allan, Curran Maguire, Zak Poole, John Okafor, Harry Newborn, Callum Bustin, James Naylor, JB Bruzulier, Rob Povey, Joe Mounsey, Lloyd Hayes, Travis Gideon, Ronnie Du Randt.  

Referee: Owen Taylor

Assistant Referees: Ian Farrell & Jason Garrick

Guernsey 21 Titans 31

Titans made to graft hard for Guernsey win

Rotherham Titans continued their successful pre-season campaign with a hard-fought, but well deserved 31-21 win over a very decent Guernsey Raiders side.

Titans performance was less fluid than 7 days earlier against Leeds, however, they still managed to outscore their hosts by 5 tries to 3, despite a challenging day’s preparation.

The day started early for many with alarm clocks ringing at 3:30am. A 2-hour delay at Manchester airport followed with the squad sat on the plane for over 90 minutes and then whilst sitting down for their pre-match meal we’re told the kick-off would be delayed by 1 hour to 7 o’clock.

So all in all to run out winners against a much-improved Guernsey outfit is not to be underestimated.

The game itself saw Rotherham start brightly as they raced into a 10-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes, following a nice individual try for Rob Povey and a pack effort finished off by Jack Bergmanas.

Titans had further opportunities to extend their lead but failed to take them.

This led to the home side finding some confidence of their own which saw them score a converted try on the half hour mark to reduce their arrears to 10-7.

The first half was ended prematurely by the referee as a Guernsey player suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury.

The half time break allowed Rotherham to regain their composure and 2 quick tries followed after the restart.

Harry Gilson-Fox crashed over for another pack try, before Lloyd Hayes intercepted and raced home from distance.

Not to be outdone Guernsey continued to battle hard and put Rotherham under pressure.

Raiders endeavours were rewarded with 2 late tries which narrowed the gap to 24-21 with 10 minutes remaining and set-up a tense finale.

Rotherham however controlled the final moments and put the game to bed when Luke Cole dotted down at the end.

Titans 40 Leeds 7

Rotherham Titans put in an excellent first-game performance to run out 40 -7 winners over a lively Leeds outfit under the lights at Clifton Lane.

The South Yorkshire side outscored their opponents by 6 tries to 1 with scores coming from Cuchulain Livingstone, Jamie Cooke, JB Bruzulier, Ronnie Du Randt, Zak Poole and Travis Gideon, with Lloyd Hayes adding four points from the tee and Rob Povey six.

In a fairly tight first half it was Leeds who started the brighter as they showed good energy and enthusiasm. This ensured Rotherham had to graft hard to keep them out; but this they did and in turn the hosts grew in confidence.

Just before the 20-minute mark Rotherham were reward for their endeavours when winger Cuchulain Livingstone finished off in the corner.

Ten minutes later Jamie Cooke on the other wing raised a boisterous cheer from the Rotherham faithful when he went over to double the Titans advantage. It was a sweet moment for him in his first game back after a 2 year absence through injury.

Leeds showed how dangerous they could be when Rotherham briefly switched-off and scrum half Ewan Laughton raced through to score under the posts.

The second half saw Rotherham control more of the game and to be fair they dominated much of what went on.

JB Bruzulier showed good awareness to add a third try and Ronnie Du Randt showed good pace and footwork for the fourth.

Titans Captain fantastic continued his great try-scoring record as he bulldozed his way over for the fifth and livewire Travis Gideon deserved his dot down at the end for his contribution.

Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“I was really impressed with the hard work that the players have put into the pre-season. I think they’ve had a different pre-season in that they haven’t had the traditional conditioning block. We’ve had a rugby ball in hand from day one and I think that showed tonight.

“What excites me is we saw a big group of young men create opportunity , but not be able to capitalise when we were always in their third and that means there is lots of growth still to come, but we have to make those mistakes to make sure as we grow as a team over the next 18 months we get better and better.

“If you had offered me that scoreline before the game I would have taken that because I was speaking with Peter (Leeds DOR) before the game and he told me they were fielding a strong side. We know how tight it was between the sides last season, so we’ve obviously making small steps in the right direction.”

Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Cuchulain Livingstone, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Zach Toerien, 2 Luke Cole, 3 Rikki Stout, 4 Curran Maguire, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 Travis Gordon, 7 Ben Copley, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: Charlie Capps, Jack Bergmanas, Andrew Foster, John Okafor, Lewis Allan, Callum Bustin, James Naylor, Charlie Metcalf, Rob Povey, Tainne Finn, Joe Mounsey, Travis Gideon, Jack Townend.

Referee: Ben Rayner

Assistant Referees: Jason Garrick & Matt Daubney

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Billingham 26 Titans 40

Rotherham Titans brought their Centenary season to an end in spectacular fashion by winning promotion with a 40-26 win over Billingham on a cool afternoon at Greenwood Road.

Titans victory will see them compete next year in National One after a stunning season saw them win 25 out of 26 games and secure their first promotion in 21 years.

The South Yorkshire side outscored their hosts by 5 tries to 4, with dot downs from Jack Bergmanas, Laurence Cowen-Leak, John Okafor, Jack Taylor and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 12 points from the tee.

The points from Lloyd Hayes made sure for the second season running he topped the National Leagues as the leading point’s scorer and he also broke Juan Pablo Socino’s club record of most points in a season.

Titans’ victory was incredibly their fifteenth consecutive bonus-point win since their narrow loss to Leeds in November and congratulations to Leeds for making the title race an exciting one that went to the final day of the season.

And congratulations to Billingham who deserved their bonus point from the game which guarantees them their place in National 2 North next term.

The game was a tense one with so much at stake for both clubs and although Rotherham had secured the bonus point before the break, they only led by 26-19 with Billingham already on 3 tries.

The second half saw Rotherham take control and extend their lead with an early penalty from Hayes and a try from winger Jack Taylor and when Hayes knocked over another penalty on 72 minutes to make it 37-19 the game was effectively wrapped up.

However, there was late drama on 80 metres when prop forward Dan Dixon got over the line for Billingham to secure their status in the league and well done to them.

However, Lloyd Hayes had the last say with a very late penalty and as they say, the crowd went wild – for both teams!

“It’s a bit of a fairy-tale,” said Titans Harvey Biljon.

He added, "A promotion in a centenary season is something special and in ten, 15 or 20 years’ time people will look back and remember a team that had to stick with it for so long in second place and then go and win a real pressure game (against Leeds) and manage to stay undefeated in the second half of the season and see it out away from home.

"Today’s game reflected the season, we had some real challenges with the way Billingham came at us and we had to problem solve. There was tension through the whole game but the way the team closed out the win through the second half was pretty special considering the way we were challenged in the first half.

"In the huddle afterwards, I thanked the players for their effort and told them they deserved it. They’re champions. No-one can ever take that away from them.”

Try scorer John Okafor said, “Harvey kept telling us, ‘stay in the fight. Don’t look at the league table. I know you guys are the best team in the league so keep going.’ Beating Leeds at Clifton Lane last month was the pivotal moment for us.”

Skipper Zak Poole added, “I’ve been here a long time. This is my club and when it’s your club and you achieve something it means so much more. We’ve been through some downs and fallen short but now we have finally made it happen.

“Today wasn’t just about the lads out there. It was about the fans and every single person connected with Rotherham Rugby Club.”

Referee: Henry Pearson

Attendance: 1002

Yellow Card: Bustin & Newborn (Titans)

Titans: Bergmanas (T), Cowen-Leak (T), Okafor (T), Taylor (T), Hayes (T, 3C, 3P)

Billingham:  Kirkbride (T), Kirby (T), Dixon (T), Peter Evans (T, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Kivalu 78), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 72), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 61), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 79), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 19 John Okafor, 25 Harry Newborn, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Payne 79), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 23 Marcus Payne, 22 Will Metcalfe.  

Billingham: 15 Elliott Husband (Capt.) (Youll 65), 14 Jonny Horner, 13 Matt Kirby, 12 Joe Evans, 11 Joe Scarborough (Groark 66), 10 Peter Evans, 9 Connor Foley, 23 Dan Dixon, 2 Ed Graham, 3 James Watson (Beadling 79), 24 Ryan Kirkbride (Walton 34), 5 Mike Whinn (Kirkbride 65), 6 Tom Campbell, 7 Nathan Myers, 8 Dan Burns.  

Replacements: 16 Kieran Clark, 17 Harry Beadling, 18 Mike Walton, 19 Peter Youll, 20 Louie Groark. 

Sheffield Tigers 14 Titans 36

Rotherham Titans had to work extremely hard to secure a 36-14 win over South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Tigers on a bright afternoon at Dore Moor.

Titans outscored the hosts by 4 tries to 2 with dot downs coming from Laurence Cowen-Leak, Callum Bustin, Jack Townend and Jack Taylor, with Lloyd Hayes adding 16 points from the tee.

The win puts Rotherham on the brink of promotion and a return to National One after three seasons in N2N.

Titans will become champions next Saturday if they beat Billingham at Greenwood Road – a game no one at Clifton Lane is taking for granted.

This game at Dore Moor proved to be every bit as challenging as expected, with the home side giving everything to stop the Clifton Lane side.

Rotherham however eventually got the upper hand, securing the bonus point try in the final play of the game.

Indeed it was Rotherham who started the brighter as they raced into an early lead when back rower Laurence Cowen-Leak scored in the corner after receiving a short pass from Harry Dunne.

Tigers came back strongly as they showed plenty of emotion and they took the lead when former Titan Josh Redfern powered over for Mark Ireland to convert.

The game was shaping up nicely and there was plenty of physicality on show as each side attempted to wrestle control.

Titans regained the lead on 25 minutes when number 8 Callum Bustin peeled off a maul to bulldoze his way over in the corner.

It looked as though Rotherham would go in at the break with the advantage; however in the fifth minutes of injury time Tigers worked the ball nicely through the backs for centre Sam Wager to dot down under the post. Ireland knocked over the extras to send the home side in 14-12 to the good.

Titans have often this season produced strong second half performances and this proved to be the case once again.

The league’s top point’s scorer, Lloyd Hayes, proved deadly with the boot as he slotted over four penalties as Rotherham slowly took charge of the game.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes Rotherham increased their advantage and effectively wrapped up the game when full back Jack Townend ran in for the third try, after good work in the build up from Will Milner. Hayes’ conversion made it 31-14.

In the final play the cherry was added when winger Jack Taylor went in at the corner after Cowen-Leak had made good ground to send him in.

The large contingent of Rotherham’s travelling support duly made the appropriate noise on full time.

The focus will now immediately shift to Saturday’s game at Billingham, where a win for Rotherham would see them gain their first promotion for 21 years.

Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

"Sheffield Tigers came to play. They were fired up and they put in a hell of a performance.

"Beforehand we were calm but after the kick-off you could see the anxiety because the players knew how important the game was.

"Once we spoke at half time then we were in a position to change gear and let the game unfold and we fully deserved a bonus point win.

"Nothing changes for us. We've worked hard and we'll do so again and enjoy the trip to Billingham. This gives us something to go and play for on the last day and that's exciting."

Referee: Daniel Woods

Attendance: 510

Yellow Card: Hayes, Capps, Bustin (Titans), Redfern (Tigers)

Titans: Cowen-Leak (T), Bustin (T), Townend (T), Taylor (T), Hayes (4P, 2C)

Sheffield Tigers:  Redfern (T), Wager (T), Ireland (2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 74), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 59), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 72), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.) (Kivalu 4), 19 John Okafor, 25 Rupert Kay (Payne 74), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 23 Marcus Payne, 22 Will Metcalfe.   

Sheffield Tigers: 15 Will Baker, 14 Jamie Broadley, 13 Barney Goatley, 12 Sam Wager (Manderfield 69), 11 James Norman, 10 Mark Ireland, 9 Ryan Holmes, 16 Nick Bingham (Garside 56), 2 Will Archer, 3 Karl Garside (Bennett 40) (Bingham 77), 4 Joe Fitzsimons, 5 Dom Santimaria (Hawksworth 56), 21 Connor Scott (Cartwright 45), 6 Liam Wallace (Monks 69), 8 Josh Redfern.

Replacements: 1 Will Bennett, 17 Harry Cartwright, 18 Dan Hawksworth, 19 Lee Monks, 20 Ben Manderfield.

Photo Credit: Gareth Lyons

Titans 67 Preston Grasshoppers 20

Rotherham Titans ran in 10 tries to beat a determined Preston Grasshoppers side 67-20 on a breezy afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans’ dot down came via a brace from Jack Townend, with one each coming for John Okafor, Charlie Capps, Zak Poole, Jack Taylor, Luke Cole, Cuchulain Livingstone, Callum Bustin and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 15 points from the tee and Will Milner also chipped in with 2 points.

The win was Titans biggest of the season and the supporters celebrated accordingly in the clubhouse afterwards.

Those celebrations hit new heights as news of Leeds Tykes defeat at Fylde came filtering through.

The Tykes defeat means if Rotherham wins their final two games they will be promoted to National One and this would be a fitting reward for them in their Centenary season.

This game saw Rotherham start brightly as they took the lead inside two minutes when John Okafor dotted down following a tremendous break from Lloyd Hayes.

Preston’s Ed Keohane and Titans’ Hayes then traded penalties before the next try came just before the half hour when Roth’s Harry Dunne fed full back Jack Townend who showed great desire to get over.

The momentum was now with the home side and the lead was extended when a nice offload from John Okafor close to the line was finished off by prop forward Charlie Capps.

The second half saw Titans increase the intensity as they looked to go all season at home undefeated.

The bonus point was wrapped up within four minutes when skipper Zak Poole touched down after collecting a sharp pass from Harry Dunne.

From the restart Rotherham scored immediately; Zak Poole made good ground before finding John Okafor who threw a sumptuous long-pass out to winger Jack Taylor for him to coast home for a lovely try.

To be fair Preston never stopped trying and on 50 minutes they were rewarded when a loose ball was hacked on by back rower Rob Willetts who won the foot race to collect and go in next to the posts.

Titans however responded quickly and effectively as they ran in another two scores.

Jack Townend grabbed his second of the game when he barged over in the corner having collected a pass on the edge of the 22 and then hooker Luke Cole finished off after more good work in the build up from Lloyd Hayes to make it 48-10.

Despite the points mounting up against them Grasshoppers continued to work hard and they scored a second try when hooker Harry Holden dotted down from the tail of a maul from a line out.

Once again however Rotherham hit back with a brace of tries.

It was Lloyd Hayes who this time finished off near the corner as the ball was spread the full width of the pitch; this was followed by Cuchulain Livingstone grabbing his first try for the club as he showed good ambition to get over following a lovely long pass from Hayes.

Five minutes from time Preston grabbed a third try through second rower Ally Murray, before in the final play of the game Titans’ Callum Bustin dotted down from the back of a powerful scrum.

Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“We spoke before the game about putting in a performance that would support having an unbeaten season at home and I think that’s what they went out and did from minute one.

“It was great to see John Okafor score early and then we battled through the first half and in the second half I thought we saw the best that Rotherham have played since I got here.

“We’ve been operating in fits and starts through the season, whereas today we’ve stuck to task and played really well and that was reflected in the score.

“The team has improved a lot as the season has progressed and today’s performance was a big step in the right direction.

“We still have two tough games to go and the aim is to maintain our progression to the end of the season.”

Referee: Michael Harris

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Hayes (Titans)

Titans: Townend (2T), Okafor (T), Capps (T), Poole (T), Taylor (T), Cole (T), Livingstone (T), Bustin (T) Hayes (T, P, 6C), Milner (1C)

Preston Grasshoppers: Willetts (T), Holden (T), Murray (T), Keohane (1P, 1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi (Livingstone 63), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 45), 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 57), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 35), 3 Gareth Denman (Kivalu 30), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 19 John Okafor, 25 Harry Newborn (Kay 47), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 26 Rupert Kay, 20 Cuchulain Livingstone, 22 Will Metcalfe.   

Preston Grasshoppers: 15 Jacob Browne, 14 Craig Procter, 13 Jack Lightowler, 12 Cameron Brown, 11 Tyler Spence, 10 Ed Keohane, 9 Joe Harrison (O’Donnell 40), 1 Will Parkinson, 2 Harry Holden, 3 Mike Ashdown (Trippier 40), 4 Ewan Naylor (Richardson 50), 5 Ally Murray, 6 Declan Norrington, 7 Rob Willetts (Luke Procter 53), 8 Josh Longson (Capt.).

Replacements: 25 Olli Trippier, 17 Luke Procter, 18 Scott Richardson, 19 Ciaran O’Donnell, 20 Rory Brand. 

Photo Credit: Gareth Lyons

Titans 32 Leeds Tykes 26

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding performance to beat league leaders Leeds Tykes 32-26 in a pulsating encounter on a bright, but gusty afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored their West Yorkshire rivals by five tries to four with Jack Taylor and John Okafor bagging a brace each with Harry Dunne grabbing the fifth; Lloyd Hayes added 7 points form the tee.

The result leaves Rotherham 2 points behind Leeds at the top with 3 games remaining and everything is up for grabs in terms of promotion; it’s likely the final outcome won’t be settled until the last game of the season.

The match itself demonstrated a high standard of skill in difficult conditions and was indeed a credit to National League Rugby.

It was Rotherham that came out of the blocks quickest and inside 8 minutes found themselves 10-0 up following a Lloyd Hayes penalty and a converted try from winger Jack Taylor. The latter showed good pace and desire to chase down a clearance kick to dot down in front of a packed clubhouse.

Midway through the half Leeds narrowed the gap when winger Ben Turpin scored a fine solo try when he chased his own kick to score in the corner,

Although Rotherham held the advantage on the scoreboard it was the visitors who held sway in terms of territory and possession. Indeed the hosts had to graft hard on numerous occasions to keep the leaders out.

That graft was rewarded when late on in the first half Rotherham scored two quick-fire tries.

Firstly a lovely break from Lloyd Hayes on halfway saw him feed John Okafor who went in from just outside the 22. Then centre Harry Dunne was on hand to pick up from the base of a ruck to dive over.

With the last kick of the half Lloyd Hayes missed a difficult penalty effort, but Rotherham went in leading 22-5.

The second half was always going to be a testing one for Rotherham as they had the stiff wind in their faces.

The test became even more challenging when in the space of two minutes Titans lost Jack Bergmanas and Zak Poole to the sin bin.

Whilst down to 13 players Leeds unsurprisingly took advantage and grabbed their second try through flanker Jonny Teague following a period of possession inside the Titans 22.

However, once Rotherham returned to a full complement of players on the pitch they quickly added to their tally and secured the bonus point. This came on 66 minutes when a lovely miss-pass from JB Bruzulier found Jack Taylor on the right wing to dive over in the corner to make it 27-12.

Leeds are not top of the table and unbeaten coming into this game for no reason. Inside the final 8 minutes they threw caution to the wind in pursuit of a bonus point.

Their ambition was rewarded with two tries from Pete Lucock and a scintillating one from full back Kieran Davies who finished off a lovely break which started from inside the Leeds 22.

Any nerves Rotherham had were quickly dispelled when late on John Okafor picked up a loose ball inside the Rotherham half and proceeded to gallop home from around 60 metres to secure a memorable victory.

Reflecting after the match Titans Harvey Biljon said:

“I think what stands out the most is the character and heart that Rotherham showed today.

“There was some real adversity through the game; we were down to 13 players at one stage, but the way the players kept on getting off the floor for each other was pretty special.

“The other thing that really stood out for me is if you go back to when we played Leeds earlier in the season, we are a much better team than we were then.

“I think that came through today because Leeds is a team that is in form and you can see the skill they have and the style of rugby they play is pretty attractive; we needed to dig deep and the lads delivered.

“Not everything went our way and you have to give them credit around their set piece, their maul and scrum was functioning and it took us time to get rewarded in those areas and build ourselves into the game.

“There was numerous defensive sets that we had to deal with and the players were outstanding in those moments and that went a long way to earning us our victory.

“I have to make mention of the unbelievable support we had today. Since I’ve been here I’ve seen the crowds growing, I’ve seen how vocal they are and how they get behind everyone and today they were outstanding again; let’s hope they keep coming.”

Referee: Ben Simpson

Yellow Card: Cowen-Leak, Bergmanas, Poole (Titans), Brady (Leeds)

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

Leeds Tykes: Turpin (T), Teague (T), Lucock (T), Davies (T), Irvine (3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 56), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman, 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 5 Matt Smith (Cowen-Leak 61) (Bustin 67), 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Newborn 52), 8 Callum Bustin (Ward 56).

Replacements: 25 Harry Newborn, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 16 Rupert Kay, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Leeds Tykes: 15 Kieran Davies, 14 Callum Irvine, 13 Ben Dixon (Venables 51), 12 Tom Williams (Dixon 61), 11 Ben Turpin, 20 Pete Lucock, 9 Will Hardwick (Macnab 59), 1 Toby Williams, 2 Adam Brown (Capt.), 3 Will Dennis, 4 Jake Brady, 5 Tom Collins, 6 Junior Nu’u (Ademakin 51) (Nu’u 61), 7 Jonny Teague, 8 Eddie Brown.  

Replacements: 16 Aarin Yorke, 17 Alex Fishwick, 18 Tobi Ademakin, 19 Charlie Venables, 10 Henry Macnab.  

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Hull 29 Titans 47

Rotherham Titans continued their impressive form with a deserved 47-29 win over an accomplished Hull side, on a bright afternoon at the Ferens Ground.

Rotherham outscored their hosts by 7 tries to 4 with the dot downs coming via a brace from winger Jack Taylor and one each for JB Bruzulier, Harry Dunne, Loma Kivalu, Marcus Payne and Will Milner, with the latter also impressing with the boot as he added a further 12 points from the tee.

The victory was Titans eleventh on the trot and now all eyes will be on next week’s game at Clifton Lane where the visitors will be league leaders Leeds Tykes.

Hopefully a bumper crowd will turn out for what is expected to be a thriller between the best two sides in the division.

This game was also a thriller and a great advert for National 2 rugby as both sides showed brutal physicality with good pace and skill across the backline as 76 points were scored including 11 tries.

Despite the high score we had to wait until the fifteenth minute before the scoreboard operator had to put his cup of tea down.

When it arrived however it was for Rotherham when scrum half JB Bruzulier showed good awareness and strength to burrow over after picking up close to the line. Will Milner on kicking duty for the injured Lloyd Hayes knocked over the extras.

Titans knew Hull were a good side and they showed this with some slick play through their backs following some powerful work from the pack which kept the Titans honest in defence.

However that defence was breached shortly after when winger Duell Trueman dotted down for full back Reece Dean to convert and level matters. The latter nudged his side ahead a few moments later with a penalty.

Back came Rotherham though and they retook the lead when winger Jack Taylor nipped in to score a fine try after receiving a neat pass from John Okafor out wide on the right. Milner tagged over from near the posts.

Hull were to have the final say of the half however when number 8 Paulos Latu broke through and made significant ground before popping a pass to Tom Bairstow who charged in to score. Dean’s conversion made it 17-14 at the break.

As has often been the case this season Rotherham have shown their best work in the second half of games and they did so again here.

Inside the opening 20 minutes of the restart they scored 4 tries, 3 of which were converted to effectively wrap up the game.

Firstly Will Milner scored near the corner after some great work in the build up from prop forwards Charlie Capps and Gareth Denman.

Then centre Harry Dunne was on hand to barge over following a period of forward pressure.

And talking of barging over, no one does it better than loose head prop Loma Kivalu and he was on hand to grab the next score.

The four-try blitz was concluded when Jack Taylor grabbed his second when squeezing over in the corner after the ball was spread quickly across the park to create the opportunity.

Rotherham had to wait another ten minutes before adding a seventh try of the game.

This came when skipper Zak Poole ripped possession away and found John Okafor; the big man slipped a delicate inside pass to Marcus Payne who showed good pace from outside the 22 to dart over. Milner’s conversion made it 47-17.

With the job done Rotherham eased the pressure on the accelerator pedal and to Hull’s credit they never stopped battling. Their endeavours were rewarded inside the final 7 minutes when they scored two late tries through James Naylor and Josh Papa to secure a deserved bonus point.

Nevertheless, for Rotherham to score nearly 50 points away from home against a good side like Hull has to be pleasing.

Titans will now switch their focus and preparations for what is set to be a titanic tussle on Saturday, when table-toppers and free-scoring Leeds arrive at Clifton Lane.

Reflecting after the match Titans Harvey Biljon said:

“I’ve got to be honest, I think Hull showed some real physicality in the first half and although we matched that I think they deserved their scores.

“In the second half I thought we changed gear which was nice to see and we had a little bit more control and success which was good.

“However, we are still endeavouring to stay focused for the full 80 minutes and that’s where you have to give Hull credit because they never gave up and they deserved their bonus point.

“What we need to do now is keep our feet on the ground because that’s what we’ve been doing since we came in.

This game coming up on Saturday has almost crept up on us rather than us going to look for it and that’s what’s so exciting about it because we’ll continue trying to do what Rotherham Titans have been doing.”

Referee: Michael Harris

Attendance: 325

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Taylor (2T), Bruzulier (T), Dunne (T), Kivalu (T), Payne (T), Milner (6C)

Hull:  Shaul (T), Bairstow (T), J. Naylor (T), Papa (T), Dean (3C, P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Jack Taylor, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Cuchulain Livingstone (Metcalfe 35), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 52), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 59), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 5 Matt Smith (Kay 59), 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Payne 69), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Rupert Kay, 17 Loma Kivalu, 30 Reece Ward, 23 Marcus Payne, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Hull: 15 Reece Dean, 14 Duell Trueman, 13 Alex Heard (Capt.), 12 Bureta Faraimo (Dawkins 72), 11 Jamie Shaul (Keane Naylor 56), 10 Harrison Astley, 9 Harvey Harding (Papa 59), 1 Jamie Major (Beech 41), 2 Mike Jobling, 3 Tomas Bairstow (Major 72), 4 Latu Makaafi (James Naylor 41), 5 Alec Renouf, 6 Evi Uriburu-Gray, 7 Will Hall 8 Paulos Latu.

Replacements: 16 Charlie Beech, 17 Josh Papa, 18 James Naylor, 19 Harry Dawkins, 20 Keane Naylor.

Titans 42 Hull Ionians 17

Rotherham Titans maintained their interest at the top end of the division by beating a good Hull Ionians side 42-17 on a cool afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Rotherham outscored their opponents by 6 tries to two with Loma Kivalu grabbing a brace and one each for John Okafor, Charlie Capps, Jack Townend and Callum Bustin, with Lloyd Hayes adding 10 points from the tee and Will Milner knocking over a late conversion.

Despite the healthy winning margin Rotherham were made to work hard for their victory, especially in the first half where the visitors made life difficult for the home side.

Indeed, Ionians took the lead after just 5 minutes when hooker Sam Edwards dotted down from the tail of a maul. Lewis Minikin added the extras and then stretched his side’s advantage to 10-0 with a penalty on 25 minutes.

Rotherham struggled to make inroads as a combination of too many penalties and poor accuracy cost them vital field position.

However, they did eventually get on the board late in the first half when second rower John Okafor showed good strength and desire to get over after picking up from the base of a ruck. Lloyd Hayes converted to narrow the deficit.

With the momentum now shifting to Rotherham they took the lead in injury time when loose head prop Charlie Capps powered over next to the posts. Hayes converted with the final kick of the half to send his side in 14-10 ahead.

The second half continued as the first had ended with the home side in control; and whilst it took a little time for the next score to arrive, when it did we saw 3 tries in an 8-minute spell which effectively wrapped up the game.

Firstly Rotherham full back and former Ionians player Jack Townend cut back inside after collecting a pass from Zak Poole to score.

Then front row replacement Loma Kivalu dotted down after scrum half JB Bruzulier slipped him a nice pass, after earlier good work from Harry Dunne who made some important yards.

And finally Callum Bustin broke off a driving maul close to the line to score near the corner. Hayes superbly converted all three scores.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes and to the credit of Ionians for their willingness to keep on battling, replacement hooker Ally Forth dotted down from the tail of a maul for Minikin to convert.

However the final score of the game saw Titans Loma Kivalu get his second try, when he grabbed the ball from the base of a ruck to dive over and place the cherry on the top of an impressive performance for Rotherham. Will Milner converted.

The South Yorkshire side can be pleased with their efforts against a very decent Ionians team, but will now switch focus to the next challenge which arrives on Saturday with a visit to the Ferens Ground to take on Hull.

Following the match Titans Harvey Biljon said:

“I don’t know how Ionians are where they are in the league because they look an organised outfit and they made us work for it.

“For whatever reason it took us time to get into our rhythm and into our stride, but what we spoke about at the beginning of the week and before the game was to just stay on task and back up moments in the game.

“When the sun came out we almost thought we could just play and play; we had to remind ourselves that if we keep possession we will get our reward.

“We did well at the back end of the first half and then it was just waiting for our moments and I think they showed why they are making the improvements they are. They looked a team that was composed, they showed control and they took scores.

“The final score was I thought a pretty fair reflection of the game.”

Referee: Peter Connor

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Kivalu (2T), Okafor (T), Capps (T), Townend (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (5C), Milner (1C)

Hull Ionians:  Edwards (T), Forth (T), Minikin (2C, P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes (Finn 64), 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Cuchulain Livingstone, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 64), 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 57), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Denman 77), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 23) (Ward 59), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 19 John Okafor, 6 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Allan 1) (Cowen-Leak 45), 26 Rupert Kay, 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Lewis Allan, 17 Loma Kivalu, 3 Gareth Denman, 22 Tainne Finn, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Hull Ionians: 15 Lewis Minikin, 14 Sam Wilson, 13 Will Yates, 12 Josh Britton (Celella 75), 11 Alfie Celella (Stowe 64), 10 Charlie Kirk (Hassard 64), 9 Sam Pocklington, 1 Calvin Mitchell, 2 Sam Edwards (Forth 52), 3 Euan Walker (Morton 40), 4 Joe Makin (Hellas 45), 5 Frankie Gascoigne, 6 Lucas Powell, 7 James Sanderson (Capt.), 8 Callum Sanderson. 

Replacements: 16 Chris Morton, 18 Ally Forth, 21 Tyler Hellas, 19 Will Stowe, 20 Sam Hassard.

Huddersfield 12 Titans 31

Rotherham Titans made it nine wins on the spin as they beat a hard-working Huddersfield side 31-12 on a bog of a pitch at Lockwood Park.

Titans secured the bonus-point win with tries from Jack Townend, Harry Newborn, Jack Taylor and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 11 points from the tee.

The deserved win for Rotherham on a heavy pitch narrowed the gap at the top of the table to Leeds Tykes to 6 points.

The game itself was at times feisty, but in a Yorkshire derby it is to be expected and the home side wanted to give their visitors a warm welcome.

Indeed Huddersfield came out of the traps fired-up and their emotional energy prevailed as they opened the scoring inside 8 minutes, when skipper Ed Barber darted back inside to touch down; although he wasn’t able to convert his try.

Rotherham remained calm however and set about imposing themselves on the game.

Just 3 minutes later Rotherham levelled matters when full back Jack Townend received a long miss-pass from Lloyd Hayes to scoot over in the corner. Hayes’ superb conversion from the touchline gave Roth a lead they would not relinquish.

Hayes was soon back in the thick of it as he extended the lead on 22 minutes, when after a period of forward pressure the ball was spun out through the backs allowing him to cut through to score a converted try.

Before the half hour mark Titans had their third try when from a catch and drive back rower Harry Newborn peeled off from the tail to crash over. Hayes nailed the extras.

Incredibly before the break Rotherham secured the bonus point when a clever chip through from Harry Dunne was collected by winger Jack Taylor to pick up and dive over in the corner. Hayes impressed again with the touchline conversion.

Disappointingly for Rotherham they allowed Huddersfield to score in the final play of the half as replacement forward Lewis Quinn dotted down after a short period of forward pressure; Barber added the extras to end the half.

The second period turned out to be a low-scoring affair with the only points of the half coming two minutes in when Lloyd Hayes knocked over a penalty.

Then despite lots of endeavour from Rotherham and Huddersfield, a combination of a deteriorating pitch and a determined defensive effort from each side, meant the rest of the game would remain scoreless.

Nevertheless, Rotherham would have been delighted to have come away from a filthy day against a tenacious outfit with the full five points.

As always however the focus will switch quickly to the next task in hand; this comes in the shape of Hull Ionians to Clifton Lane this Saturday.

After the match Titans Harvey Biljon commented:

“I think this is a day I will remember; what an experience. To come here and see the conditions, but underpinned by a team that was motivated to play and we wanted to get out there and play too, that will stay with me for a long time.

“After an emotional five minutes from Huddersfield we found our stride and had the bonus point won by half time.

“Clearly the first half cut the pitch up even more and the conditions didn’t get better in the second half.

Although there was probably a couple of opportunities for us to take scores in the second half, I’m happy to come away having not allowed Huddersfield to have scored and for us to have played the game in the right areas of the field, albeit not a pretty game at all.

“We didn’t score as many points in the second half and I think the coaches have to take some ownership.

I’ve spoken with Gaz about it; there were lots of permutations on the field and we lost a bit of our direction, there were lots of changes and we need to make sure as coaches the players know their roles and responsibilities.

“There was lots going on and it was a great experience for me, not only just from the pitch, the conditions, the supporters, the opposition players, but everything and it’s definitely a game I will remember.

“But overall we are pleased to have got the bonus point win, especially with everything that was going off.”

Referee: James O'Brien

Attendance: 223

Yellow Card: Ed Barber (Huddersfield)

Titans: Townend (T), Newborn (T), Taylor (T), Hayes (T, P, 4C)

Huddersfield: Quinn (T), Barber (T, 1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Jack Taylor, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne (Metcalfe 50), 11 Cuchulain Livingstone, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (Capt.) (Kivalu 50), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 30 Reece Ward (Denman 39), 19 John Okafor, 26 Lewis Allan (Capps 60), 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Payne 53), 25 Harry Newborn (Kay 59), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Rupert Kay, 17 Loma Kivalu, 3 Gareth Denman, 24 Marcus Payne, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Huddersfield: 15 Lewis Workman, 14 Charlie Foreman, 13 Xander Nash, 12 Liam Parfitt, 11 Fin Stewart (Walker 64), 10 Ed Barber (Capt.), 9 Paul Harrison, 1 Callum Thompson (Neilly 57), 2 Harry Moore (Quinn 15) (Davis 47), 3 Andy Rollins (Sanderson 35), 4 Alex Dawson, 5 Thiu Barnard, 6 Francis Entressengle, 7 Tom Haywood (Rollins 52), 8 Luke Pearson.

Replacements: 16 Lewis Quinn, 17 Loz Sanderson, 20 Josh Walker, 18 Leighton Davis, 21 Darren Neilly.

Otley 13 Titans 34

Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their bonus point 34-13 win over a tenacious Otley side on a bright afternoon at Cross Green.

Titans outscored the West Yorkshire outfit by five tries to one, with scores coming from Will Milner, Callum Bustin, Harry Newborn, Will Metcalfe and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 9 points from the tee.

On an energy-draining, heavy pitch, Rotherham deserved their eighth victory on the spin and eighteenth of the season, which leaves them in second place in the division.

That’s not to say Otley didn’t play their part in this bruising battle and you could argue the final score flattered Rotherham somewhat; nevertheless the better team on the day came away with the spoils.

Indeed it was the South Yorkshire side that got the scoreboard moving first when on 6 minutes fly half Will Milner showed good strength to power over following a pass from JB Bruzulier, after good work in the build up from the Titans pack.

Lloyd Hayes narrowly missed the extras, but he and the Otley full back Joe Rowntree then traded penalties either side of the half hour mark.

Titans at this point were enjoying the better of the exchanges and increased their advantage when Callum Bustin powered over following more effective work from the pack. Hayes tagged over the extras to make it 15-3.

Late on in the half a lapse of concentration from Rotherham saw Otley regain possession and spread the ball quickly across the pitch to allow winger Sam Taylor to score in the corner.

Joe Rowntree impressed with the extras from the touchline and with the last kick of the half he knocked over a penalty to leave the game poised at 15-13.

Fuelled by their late success of the first half Otley came out with a spring in their step and they enjoyed long periods of possession and territory in the Titans half of the field.

Unfortunately for them Rowntree missed a couple of penalty efforts during this spell and they weren’t able to convert any of that pressure into points. Indeed Otley would remain scoreless in the second half.

Just after the hour mark Rotherham made the hosts pay when they grabbed a third try through Harry Newborn, who was on hand to dot down from a pick-and-go close to the line. Hayes’ conversion made it 22-13.

As the game wore on and the clock ticked down it looked as if Rotherham may not secure the bonus point.

However, three minutes from time the ball was moved from the base of a ruck quickly by Will Metcalfe on to Harry Dunne and then to Will Milner who sent in Lloyd Hayes for a fine try.

Deep into injury time Will Metcalfe picked off an interception and galloped in from 40 metres to score in the corner and wrap up the game.

Rotherham would have been relieved to have secured the bonus point win against a tricky side on their own patch; but it was pleasing for them that they found a way to get there in the end.

As always the focus quickly switches to the next game which is another short trip to Huddersfield on Saturday and having been beaten there on the last two visits, Titans will prepare well for another tough challenge.

Speaking after the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“Otley came out and they gave us a big game and there were some crucial moments through the 80 minutes for them.

“We began to control the game in the first 30 minutes, even though the scores weren’t coming, we were 15-3 up and for them to come back in that last 10 minutes meant they had a bit more energy and emotion at the start of the second half.

“I’m proud of our players for sticking to task and I’m proud of our players for adapting during the game to what Otley were doing, which meant the messages at half time came through.

“And then when a team like Otley is not giving anything away it’s not going to just happen for you; for us to come away in the last 15 minutes with those 3 scores, that’s the sign of a team that’s probably getting a little bit more maturity, a little bit more understanding and to come away with five points I’m pretty proud of that.

“We’ve been working hard on our defence; I’m probably a bit greedy and I didn’t want to give that try away, but on the whole I was really pleased with our defensive display.

“I was happy that we once again got on the right side of the referee; I think our penalty count is going in the right direction and that’s important to us.”

Referee: Henry Pearson

Attendance: 339

Yellow Card: None

Titans: Milner (T), Bustin (T), Newborn (T), Metcalfe (T), Hayes (T, 3C, P)

Otley: Taylor (T), Rowntree (C, 2P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Cuchulain Livingstone, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 58), 1 Charlie Capps (Capt.), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 54), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 29) (Denman 54), 4 John Okafor, 5 Lewis Allan (Kivalu 56), 6 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 7 Harry Newborn (Payne 75), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Reece Ward, 19 Marcus Payne, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Otley: 15 Joe Rowntree (Stead 75), 14 Sam Taylor, 13 Gavin Stead (Graham 68), 12 Jacob Holmes, 11 Ben Dinsdale, 10 Eddie Crossland, 9 Rory Gaffney, 1 Tom Baxter (Nichols 24) (Baxter 55) (Moss 68), 2 Ryan Gibson (Mudd 28), 3 Jason Moss (Gibson 61), 4 Dan Preston-Routledge, 5 Chris Jackson (Fontaine 33) (Johnson 61), 6 Ben Waddington (Fontaine 79), 7 Sam Hodge, 8 Adam Malthouse (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Billy Nichols, 17 Leon Mudd, 18 Nick Fontaine, 19 Alex Johnson, 20 Michael Graham.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Titans 32 Sheffield 14

Rotherham Titans put in a determined and physical performance to beat local rivals Sheffield 32-14 on a mild afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Rotherham secured the bonus point and outscored the Abbeydale outfit by 5 tries to 2, with dot downs coming from Callum Bustin, JB Bruzulier, Tomasi Tanumi and a brace from Harry Newborn, with Lloyd Hayes adding 7 points from tee.

In this feisty top-of-the-table clash, second placed Rotherham were made to work hard by third placed Sheffield, particularly so in the opening 10 minutes when the visitors took the lead through the division’s leading try scorer Elliot Fisher who finished off nicely following a break from Ryan Burrows.

However, from that point on Rotherham worked themselves into the contest and slowly took charge of affairs.

The home side levelled matters on 26 minutes when Callum Bustin received a smart pass from Loma Kivalu to break through and score under the posts.

Lloyd Hayes converted and then shortly afterwards nosed Titans ahead with a penalty.

With confidence boosted from their success Rotherham stepped up the intensity to score two more tries before the break.

First up, a powerful driving maul from a line out saw Harry Newborn finish off from the tail and then a quick-thinking JB Bruzulier spotted a gap from the base of a ruck to dive over.

Rotherham should probably have secured the bonus point try before the break; unfortunately for them a lack of accuracy meant this would have to wait.

That wait wasn’t a long one. Inside 2 minutes of the restart the bonus point was bagged when Tomasi Tanumi showed great desire to crash over in the corner following a good break from Jack Townend.

Just after the hour mark the match was closed out as a contest when Rotherham scored their fifth try of the game.

This came from man-of-the-match Harry Newborn, who once again was on hand to dot down from the tail of a powerful maul.

To be fair to Sheffield they never stopped trying and inside the final 10 minutes they picked up a second try through former Titan Ryan Burrows, who showed good awareness to break from a free kick.

Nevertheless, Rotherham comfortably saw out the game to register an important win against a good side and maintain their interest at the top end of the table.

The focus will now switch to the Otley game on Saturday and to making sure the preparations are right for that one.

Speaking after the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“At times today we performed really well; we came through a tricky first 10 minutes where I think we lost our way and then we really asserted our dominance from that point on.

“We were a bit frustrated we didn’t come away with another score just before half time, but straight off the bat in the second half we did well to take advantage to get the bonus point try.

“We’ve got to go away and look at how we manage the game with the yellow card, but then to see out the game out the way we did against an emotionally charged Sheffield team, I think the players did really well.

“We just want to focus on improving each week and that’s what this team is doing. Each week they are putting in better performances and that’s what we need to keep on doing.

“Our defensive sets were outstanding; it’s an area we’ve been working really hard on. I’m happy with the overall performance, we got the five points and we can go away and be proud of that.”

Referee: Jack Moorhouse

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Parsons (Sheffield) Denman (Titans)

Titans: Newborn (2T), Bustin (T), Bruzulier (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (2C, P)

Sheffield: Burrows (T), Fisher (T, 2C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Dan Rundle (Kivalu 47) (Rundle 55) (Metcalfe 61), 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Rundle 77), 1 Charlie Capps (Capt.), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 47), 3 Loma Kivalu (Denman 30), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith (Allan 61), 24 Marcus Payne (Cowen-Leak 37), 25 Harry Newborn (Payne 77), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 30 Gareth Denman, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 26 Lewis Allan, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Sheffield: 15 Ieuan Cooke, 14 James Flint (Flinders 39) (Flint 47) (Hughes 68), 13 Will Smith, 12 Kaj Douglas, 16 Christian Hooper, 10 Callum Posa (West 67), 9 Elliot Fisher, 1 Ben Whitney, 2 Rhodri Campbell, 22 Jake Hicklin (Rogers 58), 4 Archie Crapper (Flinders 58), 5 Dom Parsons (Capt.), 6 Rob Fawdry, 7 Jason Hignell (Adcock 55), 8 Ryan Burrows.

Replacements: 3 George Rogers, 24 Angus Hughes, 23 Charlie Flinders, 21 Matt Adcock, 20 Jonny West.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Fylde 27 Titans 32

Rotherham Titans put in an outstanding display to beat a talented Fylde outfit 32-27 on a bright afternoon at The Woodlands.

Titans outscored their hosts by 4 tries to 3 with Charlie Capps, John Okafor, JB Bruzulier and Luke Cole all dotting down, with Lloyd Hayes adding 12 points from the tee.

The bonus point victory keeps Rotherham in the hunt at the top of the table, as they continue their pursuit of leaders Leeds Tykes.

However, this game was not a straightforward one and as expected beforehand Fylde pushed Rotherham all the way to the final whistle.

Indeed, had the hosts been more clinical inside the opening 20 minutes they could have raced into a healthy lead.

However, a combination of good defence by Roth, a bit of luck and a deficiency of accuracy from the hosts meant the scoreboard remained tight throughout.

Lloyd Hayes opened the scoring after 3 minutes with a penalty before Fylde’s loosehead prop Corey Bowker showed good pace for a front row forward to gallop home from outside the 22 for a converted try.

Not to be outdone Titans loosehead prop Charlie Capps got in on the act just 3 minutes later when a nice offload from tighthead prop Reece Ward sent him in from 15 metres. Lloyd Hayes added the extras from in front of the sticks.

Despite the home side having the better of things it was Rotherham who scored next to extend their lead.

A dropped ball from Fylde just inside the Rotherham 22 was collected by second rower John Okafor. The big man opened his legs and galloped almost 80 metres with half the Fylde team trying to chase him down, before he dotted down next to the posts in front of the clubhouse. Hayes’ extras extended Roth’s lead to 17-7.

Unfortunately for the South Yorkshire side they suffered two yellow cards inside the final 10 minutes of the half.

During that spell Fylde exploited their numerical advantage by scoring a converted try through centre Scott Rawlings after a good break from second rower Tom Burrows and two penalties from Greg Smith to send them in at the break leading 20-17.

Rotherham improved in the second half and began to exert some control as they stepped up their intensity.

Lloyd Hayes levelled matters on 46 minutes with a penalty before shortly after Rotherham regained the lead when scrum half JB Bruzulier showed great desire to get over in the corner following a great offload from Harry Dunne. Hayes impressively nailed the touchline conversion.

Just before the hour mark Roth secured the bonus point when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of a powerful driving maul. The conversion was missed but Roth held a comfortable 32-20 advantage.

However, a Fylde try with 3 minutes remaining from Tane Bentley, converted by Smith set up a nervy finish.

Nevertheless Rotherham held firm to see out the game and secure an important win against a good side.

Speaking after the match Titans Gaz Lewis reflected:

“We’re delighted with the result because Fylde could have been out of sight in the opening 20 minutes. We got the bounce of the ball and they didn’t manage to capitalise on the opportunities they created.

“In the second half the lads put in a superb performance and so to come away with a five point win at a very difficult place is pleasing.

“We suffered a lot of disruption coming into the game; not being able to train on Thursday due to the snow didn’t help and maybe that was a reason why we were a little slow out of the blocks today.

“There was more disruption when we lost out Captain Zak Poole inside the first 30 minutes, but full credit to the boys, they put in a huge shift and worked their socks off for the win.

“We spoke at half time about how to manage the difficult moments in the game and I think in the second half we saw some real character and great leadership.

“Charlie Capps did a superb job leading the team after we lost Zak, Matt Smith really stepped up in the line out, I thought he was first class and JB made a huge impact coming off the bench; his experience really told as he managed key areas and gave us some good field position.                                                   

“So whilst it was a great team performance, there were some outstanding individual performances too.

“I think what turned it in the end was we were able to get some important field position which allowed us to go to work and build our maul. That’s our super-power and when we worked our way into the right areas we were able to utilise that strength.

“We’ll enjoy this result and then quickly switch our focus to Sheffield next week because that is a huge game, they are having a great season and there’s a bit of added interest with the former Rotherham links at the club.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 495

Yellow Card: Payne, Townend (Titans)

Titans: Capps (T), Okafor (T), Bruzulier (T), Cole (T), Hayes (2P, 3C)

Fylde: Bowker (T), Rawlings (T), Bentley (T), Smith (2P, 3C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Bruzulier 40), 10 Will Milner, 9 Will Metcalfe, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 62), 30 Reece Ward (Kivalu 27), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith, 7 Marcus Payne (Kay 64), 25 Harry Newborn, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.) (Bustin 27).

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Rupert Kay, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 JB Bruzulier. 

Fylde: 15 Jordan Dorrington, 14 Adam Lanigan (Reader 57), 13 Sam Stott, 12 Scott Rawlings (Forster 41), 11 Ben Turner, 10 Greg Smith, 9 Will Wootton, 1 Corey Bowker (Brookes 77), 2 Ben Gregory (Capt.), 24 Peter Altham, 4 Oli Parkinson, 5 Tom Burrows, 6 Matt Ashcroft, 7 Tane Bentley (Parker 66), 8 Toby Harrison (Bentley 76).

Replacements: 16 Alex Brookes, 17 Sam Parker, 18 Tye Raymont, 22 Freddie Reader, 19 Tom Forster.

Titans 42 Tynedale 7

Rotherham Titans put in an impressive overall performance to beat a spirited Tynedale side 42-7 on a bright afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored their North East opponents by six tries to one with dot downs from Luke Cole, Loma Kivalu, Zak Poole, Harry Dunne, Tomasi Tanumi and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 12 points from a perfect afternoon with the boot.

In an entertaining game where 49 points were scored, only 7 were scored in the first half!

Despite Rotherham totally dominating territory and possession and spending long periods inside the Tynedale 22, they found it difficult to cross the whitewash; this was in no small part due to the tenacity shown by the visiting defence.

Indeed it took until the 39th minute before the deadlock was broken by hooker Luke Cole who received the ball five metres out and proceeded to barge his way over close to the posts. Lloyd Hayes knocked over the extras, as he did all game.

Following the half time oranges there was no long wait for the next score as inside 2 minutes Rotherham were on the board again.

Following good work down the right hand side from Tomasi Tanumi the ball was fed back infield and arrived with Loma Kivalu who showed great strength to bulldoze his way over.

The cork was now out of the bottle and five minutes later Roth had their third score when a quick-tap from Lloyd Hayes was fed to skipper Zak Poole for him to dot down.

The bonus point and effectively match winning score was collected on 53 minutes and fittingly it came from centre Harry Dunne on his 100th appearance for the club. Following good work from winger Jack Taylor the ball was eventually fed out by Will Metcalfe to Dunne who showed great desire to crash over in the corner.

Before the hour mark Lloyd Hayes got in on the act when Tynedale fumbled the ball around halfway and Jack Townend hacked on, as the chase entered the try zone the ball bobbled up nicely for Hayes to dot down.

Credit to Tynedale however as they fought back with good endeavour and when prop forward Mike Hughes crashed over following a series of pick-and-goes, it was fully deserved for the teams efforts all afternoon.

Rotherham had the final word though when a catch and drive was finished off unexpectedly by winger Tomasi Tanumi to put the cherry on top of a fine performance.

There’s no match next week, so Rotherham will look to prepare well for their next test which sees them travel to top side Fylde.

Speaking after the game Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“At half time we described it as slow poison, because we knew the pressure we put on them in the first half would tell in the second and you have to give Tynedale a lot of credit for the defensive efforts they put in.

“The change we wanted in the second half was to be more accurate with the pressure and then we knew we would get our scores.

“Coming out at the start of the second half with the speed of ball and the physicality that we showed was the reason we scored 35 points in the half.

“We’ve spoken about the game and where we can control the pitch; we can get territory and possession and then we can go to work and that’s working and we need to try and maintain that.

“In the time I’ve been here that’s the best defensive effort I’ve seen from Rotherham. We are making great strides in that department; if we were to highlight an area where we’ve made a real improvement, I think we saw that today with our defence.

“We need to give a mention to Harry Dunne; what an achievement to play 100 games for the club, that’s impressive. Then to round it off with a score where he had to work for it was very pleasing and we congratulate him for that”

Referee: Sam Yates

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Wearmouth, Haigh & White (Tynedale)

Titans: Cole (T), Kivalu (T), Poole (T), Dunne (T), Tanumi (T), Hayes (T, 6C)

Tynedale: Hughes (T), Parker (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne (JB Bruzulier 56), 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner (Dunne 57), 9 Will Metcalfe, 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 35), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 56), 3 Gareth Denman (Capps 57), 19 John Okafor, 5 Matt Smith (Allan 67), 25 Harry Newborn, 7 Rupert Kay (Payne 40), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Lewis Allan, 6 Marcus Payne, 20 JB Bruzulier. 

Tynedale: 15 Joe Beaty, 14 Alex Dryden (Nankivell 22) (Rewcastle 31), 23 Euan Forlow, 12 Will Milner (Scott 67), 11 Seamus Hutton (Hughes 52) (Hutton 62), 10 Rob Parker, 9 James Telford (Capt.), 21 Mike Hughes (White 29), 2 Ralph Johnston, 3 Micky Rewcastle (Dryden 25), 4 Chris Wearmouth, 5 Graeme Dunn (Nankivell 71), 6 Jonny Cousin, 7 Henry Wainwright, 8 Owen Vassallo (Hanning 40).

Replacements: 1 Angus White, 17 Ben Haigh, 18 Will Nankivell, 16 Joe Hanning, 20 Ryan Scott.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Lymm 22 Titans 36

Rotherham Titans ran out 36-22 winners over a spirited Lymm outfit to maintain their push at the top end of the table on a damp afternoon at Crouchley Lane.

Titans outscored the hosts by 5 tries to 3, with Jack Bergmanas bagging a brace and one each coming for Jack Taylor, Harry Newborn and Callum Bustin; Lloyd Hayes added 11 points from the tee.

The win for Rotherham was tainted by what looked like a serious leg injury to second rower Matt Challinor inside the opening 10 minutes and the best wishes of everyone at Clifton Lane go out to him.

The match itself saw Titans dominate for large periods, with once again the pack laying a strong foundation, particularly so with regards to the scrum and maul.

However when Titans opened the scoring after 3 minutes it came through the backs. Lloyd Hayes made a nice break after some smart footwork saw him dart back inside; he then took play up to the 5 metre line before sending in Jack Taylor on the wing. Hayes converted nicely from out wide.

From the restart Lymm responded immediately to level matters when Paddy Jennings finished off some slick handling and Tom Shard converted.

Moments later Rotherham’s Matt Challinor suffered a terrible lower leg injury and the game was held up for 20 minutes whilst the medics, led by Titans David Swift and Chris Myers, treated Matt’s injury.

From the restart Rotherham went back in front when Jack Bergmanas dotted down from the tail of a driving maul.

Shard narrowed the gap with a penalty before Bergmanas grabbed his second try of the match with another dot down from the maul.

Before the half hour mark Rotherham secured the bonus point when flanker Harry Newborn grabbed his first try on his second appearance of the season. This came from a catch and drive close to the line.

Just before the break Titans extended the lead to 29-10 when Hayes knocked over a penalty.

Following the half time oranges Rotherham resumed their dominance and on 50 minutes put the game to bed when back rower Callum Bustin scored from a catch and drive. Hayes conversion made it 36-10.

To be fair Lymm they never stopped giving it a go and two tries late in the game from Andy Williams and Stephen Pilkington was fair reward for their efforts.

Rotherham will now dust themselves down, count up the injuries and switch focus to the next challenge which will come away to Huddersfield next Saturday.

Following the match Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“A five point win away from home - I’m very happy.

“In parts of the game I was really impressed with what our team was doing, with the way they controlled the pitch and territory and don’t underestimate those long defensive sets that we had to put in today, because Lymm were a team that kept on playing and playing and we had to stick with it.

“So I was really delighted with our defensive performance, even though we let in three scores.

“We’ve got to make mention about the adversity though the game. We lost one of our big players in Matt Challinor, after just 7 minutes and the team had to adapt and there was problem solving out there.

“When you lose somebody like Chall you might have some doubts about your maul functioning, but the maul functioned today.

“I think the backs in difficult conditions when they had the opportunities took them.

“We probably missed three opportunities from our set piece to score; we got held up twice and we were defending for our lives when we went down to 13 players at the end.

“To not allow them a bonus point at home and to look at our missed opportunities just shows how much more is still to come from this team.”

Referee: Jack Moorhouse

Attendance: 189

Yellow Card: Tanumi, Milner, Newborn (Titans), Beesley (Lymm)

Titans: Bergmanas (2T), Taylor (T), Newborn (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (4C, 1P)

Lymm: Jennings (T), Williams (T), Pilkington (T), Shard (2C, 1P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tainne Finn, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 22), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 51), 3 Gareth Denman (Ward 59), 4 Matt Challinor (Bustin 8), 19 John Okafor, 7 Lewis Allan (Kay 55), 25 Harry Newborn, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.). 

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Rupert Kay, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 Will Metcalfe. 

Lymm: 15 Jack Reynolds (Beesley 63), 14 Nathan Beesley (Williams 59), 13 Stephen Pilkington, 12 James Kimber, 11 Paddy Jennings, 10 Tom Shard, 9 Cal Morris, 16 Gav Woods (Higgins 51), 2 James Pitcher (Makin 40), 17 Matty Hand (Widdrington 40) (Hand 58), 4 James Yates (Capt.), 5 Ben Thompson, 6 Joe Johnson, 7 Harry Martin, 8 Rhys Lilly (Higginson 53).

Replacements: 1 Joe Higgins, 24 Jordan Widdrington, 18 Rob Makin, 19 Oli Higginson, 20 Andy Williams.

Titans 35 Sheffield Tigers 17

Rotherham Titans ran out worthy 35-17 winners in a full-bloodied South Yorkshire derby on a bright, but cool afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Rotherham outscored the visitors by 5 tries to 2, with their dot downs coming from Charlie Capps, Luke Cole, John Okafor, Harry Dunne and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 10 points from the tee.

The bonus point win keeps Rotherham in second place and within touch of league leaders Leeds Tykes, with the West Yorkshire side still to visit Clifton Lane later in the season.

The game played out as expected as both sides ripped into each other from the off and although it was a physical contest, it was played in the right spirit.

The competitiveness of the game saw the defences cancel each other out in the opening exchanges and it wasn’t until the 27th minute that the scoreboard was made to work when Titans loosehead prop Charlie Capps picked up from the base to dive over close to the line. Hayes tagged on the extras.

In a low-scoring opening 40 minutes Tigers fly half Will Baker added a penalty to send the teams in at the break with Titans leading 7-3.

All season long Rotherham has demonstrated what a strong second half outfit they are and yet again that quality came to the fore, as after not much more than 10 minutes they crossed the whitewash twice.

First of all hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of the maul following a catch and drive, then back rower John Okafor finished off a nice move which started off with a nice chip over the top from Lloyd Hayes. Hayes then gathered the fumbled ball and found Matt Challinor in support who in turn shipped on to Harry Dunne before he put in Okafor next to the sticks.

Titans were now rampant as they dominated every aspect of the game; this culminated in securing the bonus point on 66 minutes when centre Harry Dunne showed great strength and tenacity to bulldoze his way over.

The match was wrapped up shortly after when Lloyd Hayes scored a lovely individual try. Hayes collected a pass from Will Metcalfe inside his own half and proceeded to gallop downfield through the Tigers defence unchallenged to dot down under the posts. His conversion made it 35-3.

With the game settled Rotherham can be forgiven for their late lapse in concentration.

Two minutes from time Tigers second rower Dom Santimaria bundled his way over and in injury time winger James Norman collected a kick over the top from Will Baker to run in under the posts and credit to Tigers for never giving up despite the game being long gone.

The win keeps Rotherham actively involved at the top end of the division and they will now switch focus to the next challenge which comes at Lymm next Saturday.

Speaking after the game Titans Harvey Biljon reflected:

“To be honest I think that was a comprehensive victory; the team controlled possession, dominated territory and fully deserved the five points. However, you could see 3 weeks of rustiness from the Christmas period because we left tries out there in the first half and in the second half we didn’t capitalise on a few opportunities.

“You have to give credit to Tigers; they didn’t give up and that’s where we need to improve and be better, because although the game was over and we’d won it, we’d like to see an 80 minute performance.

“Harry Newborn came in and was exceptional, particularly when you consider he was playing out of position. Everyone tells me he’s a hooker, but he was outstanding at 7 today. He brought energy, physicality and wherever the ball was Harry was and it’s great to have someone like that to call on who wants to give so much for the shirt.”

Referee: George Ounsley

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Hawksworth (Sheffield Tigers)

Titans: Capps (T), Cole (T), Okafor (T), Dunne (T), Hayes (T, 5C)

Sheffield Tigers: Santimaria (T), Norman (T), Baker (2C, P)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tainne Finn, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 57), 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 44), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 34) (Ward 75), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith (Kay 67), 19 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Cowen-Leak 53), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.). 

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Gareth Denman, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 6 Rupert Kay, 20 Will Metcalfe.  

Sheffield Tigers: 15 Sam Wager, 18 Lewis Taylor, 13 Jamie Broadley, 12 Barney Goatley, 11 James Norman, 10 Will Baker, 9 Ryan Holmes (Capt.) (Talbot 67), 1 Will Bennett, 2 Louis Townsend (Licence 60), 3 Nick Bingham (Clark 67), 4 Dan Hawksworth, 5 Dom Santimaria, 6 Connor Scott (Manderfield 72), 7 Joe Fitzsimons, 8 Josh Redfern.

Replacements: 16 Tom Clark, 17 Patrick Licence, 14 Curtis Wilson, 19 Ben Manderfield, 20 George Talbot.

Photo Credit: Gareth Siddons

Titans 33 Wharfedale 7

Rotherham Titans put in a powerful performance to grind out a well-deserved 33-7 bonus point victory over a tenacious Wharfedale side on a mild afternoon at Clifton Lane.

Titans outscored Wharfedale by 4 tries to 1, with scores coming from John Okafor, Tainne Finn, Charlie Capps and Matt Smith, with Lloyd Hayes adding 13 points from the tee.

Going into the game it promised to be an abrasive affair and that’s exactly how it turned out as Wharfedale got into Rotherham’s faces made them graft hard for the win.

The first half, although extremely competitive, was a low-scoring one as neither side wanted to give an inch in this rasping encounter; however, Lloyd Hayes nudged Rotherham ahead on 10 minutes with a penalty kick.

The only other score in the opening half came as Wharfedale’s Louis Verity took advantage of a lapse in the Rotherham defence; as he picked up unopposed at the breakdown and raced in from 25 metres. Robbie Davidson added the extras to give the Green Machine a 7-3 lead.

The second half saw Rotherham get on top as their power game started to take its toll on Wharfedale and they reduced their arrears to a single point when Lloyd Hayes knocked over his second penalty.

The final twenty minutes saw Titans increase the intensity even more and this resulted in them scoring a remarkable four tries against a tiring opposition.

The first came on the hour mark when Harry Dunne initially made good ground down the left wing before Matt Challinor delivered a crucial offload under pressure for John Okafor to collect and power over.

Hayes added another penalty shortly after before quick ball through the backs, which involved JB Bruzulier, Harry Dunne, Will Milner and Jack Townend culminated in Tainne Finn going over in the corner on debut.

Inside the final ten minutes loose head prop Charlie Capps bulldozed his way over following good work from the pack and in the final play of the match second rower Matt Smith was on hand to collect another fine offload from Matt Challinor to secure the bonus point.

The victory was impressive and important as Rotherham continues their pursuit of leaders Leeds Tykes and with 13 games played and another 13 to go; everything is still to play for in what will be a long season of rugby.

Speaking after the match Titans Gaz Lewis reflected:

“Wharfedale are in the higher echelons of the league for a reason; I thought they were outstanding, particularly in the first half. They made it a real battle at the breakdown and they got under our skin in terms of the set-piece and made our life difficult.

“At half time we spoke about keeping our belief in what we wanted to achieve and to manage the aspects of the game we could control. We spoke about remaining calm and sticking to our processes and in the second half I thought the lads were outstanding, particularly in the final 20 minutes.

“To overcome some difficult periods against a top side like Wharfedale demonstrated the character within this squad; they showed bucket-loads of it to come back and get the bonus point win.

“This league is far from over; it’s a long season and we’re only at the halfway point and we know there’s a lot of rugby still to be played.

“We have a bit of a break now over Christmas and it’s important that the lads get some rest and recuperate and then come back firing in the New Year; it promises to be an exciting second half to the season.”

Referee: Daniel Woods

Attendance: 250

Yellow Card: Milner (Titans), Baldwin (Wharfedale)

Titans: Okafor (T), Finn (T), Capps (T), Smith (T), Hayes (3P, 2C)

Wharfedale: Verity (T), Davidson (1C)

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle (Tanumi 50), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Tainne Finn, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 57), 3 Gareth Denman (Kivalu 50), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Rupert Kay (Cowen-Leak 40), 8 Callum Bustin (Okafor 40). 

Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 19 John Okafor, 20 Tomasi Tanumi.  

Wharfedale: 15 Ryan Hodgson, 14 Tom Darwin, 13 James Coulton, 12 Oliver Cicognini, 11 Louis Verity, 10 Robbie Davidson, 9 Ollie Riddiough (Prell 51), 1 Sam Dickinson, 2 Robbie Collinson (Willis 68), 3 Jake Armstrong (Hirst 73), 4 Elliot Stockton, 5 George Hedgley (Capt.), 6 Jack Pinder, 7 Ben Markey (Green 55), 8 Rob Baldwin (Fawcett 73).

Replacements: 16 Jack Hirst, 17 Dan Willis, 18 Rhys Green, 19 Joe Fawcett, 20 Josh Prell. 

Preston Grasshoppers 7 Titans 34

Rotherham Titans put in a dominant forward display to overpower Preston Grasshoppers 34-7 on a wet and windy afternoon at Lightfoot Green Lane.

Titans outscored the hosts by 6 tries to 1, with scores from Callum Bustin, Zak Poole, Charlie Capps, John Okafor, Jack Bergmanas and Rupert Kay, with Lloyd Hayes adding 4 points from the tee.

The result keeps Rotherham in second place in the table and narrows the gap to Leeds to 6 points.

The match was played in awful wintry conditions as the rain lashed down and the wind swept through. It wasn’t a day for expansive rugby; it was always going to be a day where the forwards would dictate the outcome.

Indeed after just six minutes it was Rotherham number 8 Callum Bustin who got the scoreboard ticking over when he dotted down from a maul close to the line. Unsurprisingly Lloyd Hayes’ conversion from out wide was blown off course.

Preston however hit back within five minutes when lock forward Ellis Causey, dual-registered with Sale Sharks, charged down a clearing kick and neatly controlled before diving over to score a converted try. Unfortunately the tall second rower injured himself on landing and he played no further part in the game.

Despite Rotherham have much the better of things there would be only one more score in the first half. This came in the 25th minute when skipper Zak Poole crashed over following some powerful work from the Titans pack.

Rotherham would have gone in at half time frustrated with themselves after a number of errors led to lots of missed opportunities.

However, a more clinical Roth emerged for the second period as they went through the gears in search of the win and a bonus point.

Within 10 minutes of the restart Titans had their third try when Zak Poole fed loose head prop Charlie Capps who in turn charged in from 10 metres to power over next to the posts.

Before the hour mark the win and bonus point was secured when powerful back rower John Okafor dotted down following further good work from the Rotherham pack.

Two tries inside the final ten minutes added the cherries on top when firstly hooker Jack Bergmanas dotted down from a catch and drive and in the final play back rower Rupert Kay showed great tenacity to score following a brilliant 50 metre break from Lloyd Hayes.

All in all Rotherham will have been delighted to have secured a bonus point win in terrible conditions against a tricky side that beat them last season.

Titans will now focus on a huge Yorkshire derby on Saturday when high-flyers Wharfedale come to Clifton Lane for the last game before Christmas.

Speaking after the match Titans Gaz Lewis reflected:

“We spoke about delivering a professional performance in difficult conditions; it needed to be that when you come to places like this. We stuck to the task in hand and although we didn’t quite deliver that in the first half, we did in the second half with the way we imposed ourselves with a great effort from the lads.

“I think it’s a measure of how far we have come in a short space of time, the lads have the ability to problem solve and that’s a sign of the maturity in the team.

“To be fair to Preston they didn’t go away and they stuck to their task the whole game, but we played to our strengths in very difficult conditions and we are pleased to come away with the five points.

“We’ll now switch out thoughts to Wharfedale next week. I think everyone knows Wharfedale are a physical team; they are going to be abrasive and in your face and it will be very competitive.

“Training has been outstanding for us; we are working hard on our conditioning and physicality and it should be a real tough battle. Hopefully we can get a big crowd and create a good atmosphere at Clifton Lane.”

Referee: Dave Charlton

Attendance: 306

Yellow Card: Cowen-Leak (Titans), Williams (Preston)

Titans: Bustin (T), Poole (T), Capps (T), Okafor (T), Bergmanas (T), Kay (T), Hayes (2C)

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

Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner (JB Bruzulier 77), 9 JB Bruzulier (Metcalfe 56), 1 Charlie Capps (Denman 70), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 45), 3 Gareth Denman (Kivalu 45), 4 Matt Challinor (Kay 66), 5 Matt Smith, 19 John Okafor, 7 Zak Poole (Capt.), 8 Callum Bustin (Cowen-Leak 47). 

Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Laurence Cowen-Leak, 27 Rupert Kay, 20 Will Metcalfe.    

Preston Grasshoppers: 15 Jacob Browne (Capt.) (Haigh 76), 14 Ben Haigh (Parkinson 45), 13 Jack Lightowler, 12 Ed Keohane, 11 Tyler Spence, 10 Will Hunt, 9 Rory Brand (Povall 76), 25 Jake Pope, 2 Harry Holden (Williams 73), 3 Wade Williams (Haigh 55) (Gosling 71), 4 Ellis Causey (Naylor 12), 5 Ally Murray, 6 Will Riley, 7 Ben Dorrington (Wilkinson 67), 8 Josh Longson.

Replacements: 16 Cameron Wilkinson, 17 Will Parkinson, 24 Ewan Naylor, 19 Izaak Gosling, 20 Niall Povall.