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.
