This memorable game from the 2013/14 season saw Rotherham take on Bristol at Abbeydale Park, live on Sky Sports, in the Greene King IPA Championship play-off semi-final 2nd leg.
Rotherham put in an immense effort, as they did themselves proud against a top-quality outfit. Indeed at half time they held an overall aggregate advantage over the 2 legs and unexpectedly found themselves only 40 minutes away from the Championship final and a potential return to the Premiership!
However, the deeper squad of Bristol eventually shone through as they eventually ran out 22-11 winners on the day.
Titans’ points on the day came from a Michael Keating try and two penalty kicks from Juan Pablo Socino.
Check out all the scores from the game HERE
Post match coaches comments:
Lee Blackett: “We were really disappointed after the game; we put ourselves in a great position at half time but we just ran out of steam. In the end we ended up just carrying too many knocks; losing Jack Preece at half time was a hard one to take and then losing Alfie meant we had to move boys around. Tom Cruse was struggling, Ali Birch got knocked out and before we knew it we were carrying a lot of individuals and as a result it became a bit too much for us.
“You have to give credit to Bristol because they were outstanding in the second half and we didn’t really see much of the ball from thereon in.
“However, we are satisfied with how the year has gone and we are happy that we made the top four. We are the first Rotherham team to make the Championship semi-final, we’re the first Titans side who have made the last 8 of the British & Irish Cup and all the credit must go to these players for that achievement.
“But it’s not just been about on the field; the way the boys have embraced the club and taken on the Titan Tuesday has been very special. The way supporters and players mix is the key ingredient in why this place is so special and we look forward to continuing that moving forward.”
Attendance: 3,267
Referee: Matthew Carley
Yellow Card: Mama (Bristol)
Titans: Keating (T), Socino (2P)
Bristol: Mosses (T), Robinson (5P, 1C)
Titans: Sean Scanlon; Jamie Broadley, Joel Gill, Jack Roberts, Michael Keating; Juan Pablo Socino, Charlie Mulchrone (Capt.); Toby Williams, Tom Cruse, Colin Quigley, Tom Holmes, Josh Thomas-Brown, Alex Rieder, Jack Preece, Alfie To'oala.
Replacements: 16 Ali Birch, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Dan Sanderson, 20 Jordan Davies, 21 Dan White, 22 Dallan Murphy.
Bristol: Jack Wallace; George Watkins, Jack Tovey, Ben Mosses, Andy Short; Nicky Robinson, Ruki Tipuna (c); Kyle Traynor, Rhys Lawrence, James Hall, Ben Glynn, Glen Townson, Marco Mama, Ross Rennie, Ryan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ross Johnston, 17 Jason Hobson, 18 Nick Koster, 19 Mitch Eadie, 20 Luke Baldwin, 21 Adrian Jarvis, 22 Adam Hughes.
Check out all the scores from the game HERE
