This memorable game from the 2013/14 season saw Rotherham host Cornish Pirates for an early New Year thriller at Clifton Lane, in round 12 of the Greene King IPA Championship.
Titans mounted a stunning comeback having trailed 24-3 after just 26 minutes, as they worked themselves back in to the game to score four tries and earn a worthy 35-30 win over a spirited Pirates side on a wet afternoon in South Yorkshire.
Roth’s tries came courtesy of first half efforts from Laurence Pearce and Jack Roberts, with man-of-the-match Ben Sowrey adding a third and Michael Keating securing the bonus point try; Juan Pablo Socino added a further 15 points with the boot.
Check out all the scores from the game HERE
Post Match Coaches Comments:
Lee Blackett: “We were bitterly disappointed with the first 25 minutes of the game, but I was really proud of the boys in how they kept their belief. We know we are a team that can score points and despite conceding those three tries, defensively we have been very good recently. So even at that stage I knew we had the capabilities within us to get back into it. Those two tries we scored before half time were massive and at that stage I felt the momentum had shifted towards us.
“We didn’t have to say too much at the break; discipline was the key message and a couple of things in attack. But I felt we were on a roll going into the second half and the boys carried that on and I thought we deserved the five points.
“We were happy with Ben Sowrey’s contribution; he’s been playing really well recently when he’s come off the bench and he deserved his opportunity. Then in the second half we knew we had to get Tom Cruse on; he’s a big player for us, he’s got a great attitude and he offers us a lot around the field. And the best compliment I could pay Ben was we had to play Tom Cruse in the back row.
“For me also I think for the second week in a row the guys that have come off the bench have made a massive difference and although we used the bench a bit earlier than usual, I thought all the boys did very well.”
Attendance: 1735
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Yellow Card: None
Titans: Pearce (T), Roberts (T), Sowrey (T), Keating (T), Socino (3P, 3C).
Pirates: Holland (T, 3P, 3C), Riley (T), Kessell (T).
Titans: 15 Sean Scanlon, 14 Michael Keating, 13 Jack Roberts (Gill 70), 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Curtis Wilson (Broadley 43), 10 Dallan Murphy, 9 Dan White, 1 Robin Hislop (Williams 58), 2 Ben Sowrey, 3 Colin Quigley (Tampin 58), 4 Barney Maddison (Capt.), 5 Ben Thomas (Sanderson h/t), 6 Alex Rieder (Cruse 50), 7 Jack Preece, 8 Ed Williamson (Pearce 25).
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Toby Williams, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Dan Sanderson, 20 Laurence Pearce, 21 Joel Gill, 22 Jamie Broadley.
Cornish Pirates: 15 Craig Holland, 14 Mike Pope, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Alex Dancer (James 65), 11 Kieran Goss (Moyle 76), 10 Matt Evans (Sinclair 51), 9 Tom Kessell; 1 Kieran Davies (Andrew 51), 2 Rob Elloway, 3 Ben Prescott, 4 Neale Patrick (Atkinson 65), 5 Darren Barry, 6 Chris Morgan (Capt.), 7 Joel Conlon (Parker 76), 8 James Phillips (Carpenter 68).
Replacements: 16 Aaron Carpenter, 17 Paul Andrew, 18 Jake Parker, 19 Joe Atkinson, 20 Rheon James, 21 Angus Sinclair, 22 Kyle Moyle.
Check out all the scores from the game HERE
Michael Keating tackled in front of the Shed
Photo Credit: Rotherham Advertiser