Rotherham Titans made it five successive league wins with a dominant 45-17 win over Harrogate on a bright afternoon at Rudding Lane.
Rotherham outscored their hosts by seven tries to three with score’s coming via a hat trick for skipper Zak Poole and one each for Gareth Denman, Luckas Sableman-Blue, Matt Challinor and Harry Dunne, with Sam Veall adding 10 points from the tee.
The victory guarantees Rotherham at least fifth place in the league, which following their mid-season slump can be seen as a positive to take into next season.
The game itself was largely dominated by the South Yorkshire side, but it wasn’t until the 15th minute that they got the scoreboard ticking when skipper Zak Poole dotted down from a catch and drive close to the line.
Poole added a second shortly after, when following a number of phases inside the host’s 22, he showed great strength and determination to crash over next to the sticks. Sam Veall added the extras.
A now rampant Rotherham added to their tally just before the half hour mark when prop forward Gareth Denman dotted down in the corner from a driving maul.
Before half time the bonus point was secured in scintillating style when winger Luckas Sableman-Blue collected the ball on halfway from Callum Bustin; he then proceeded to show great footwork as he raced past three defenders to score a lovely try. Veall knocked over the extras.
The second half was a more even affair, although Titans wasted little time in adding to their score when lock forward Matt Challinor dotted down from a maul after just 4 minutes. Veall converted.
Three minutes later and after good carries from Alastair Donkor and Marcus Payne in the build-up, Sam Veall popped a nice pass to Zak Poole on the edge of the 22 for him to gallop home to score under the posts. Veall’s conversion made it 38-0.
To be fair to Harrogate they never stopped trying and their efforts gained some reward on 54 and 66 minutes respectively when winger Will Yates and replacement centre Harrison Walker both crossed the whitewash. Fly half Tom Steene successfully converted the first.
Two minutes from the end of normal time Harry Dunne, who had a good game playing out of position in the fly half shirt, scored Titans seventh try of the match when he received a pass from Sam Veall to dive over in the corner. Veall impressed with his conversion from out wide.
The last word however came for the hosts when skipper Sam Brady picked up from the base and dived over in the final play of the game.
Nevertheless Rotherham can be pleased with their efforts on the day and can take confidence from the fine form they are currently enjoying. They will now prepare diligently for the final game of the season away to local rivals Sheffield Tigers on Saturday.
Speaking after the game Rotherham head coach, Gary Pearce said:
“We had some late changes in key positions, with Sam at nine and Harry at ten and they both did really well. We scored seven tries and probably left another four out there, but I have to give Harrogate a lot of credit as they stuck in there throughout the game.
“We are always pleased to get a win away from home; we picked up the bonus point and we made it five wins on the trot which always helps in terms of confidence. Our defence was good, but we were a little disappointed to concede the try at the end, when we probably should have scored at the other end moments earlier.
“However, overall it was very positive, the lads are really putting in the effort and with us being down to the bare bones; there’s a few of them playing out of position, but they’re still putting in good performances.
“As a group we have got stronger, of course winning always helps as that gives you more confidence. We have put a lot of emphasis on our structure defensively with Clive (Griffiths) and that has helps us along too.”
Referee: Dan Woods
Attendance: 275
Yellow Card: None
Titans: Poole (3T), Denman (T), Sableman-Blue (T), Challinor (T), Dunne (T), Veall (5C)
Harrogate: H Yates (T), Walker (T), Brady (T), Steene (1C)
Titans: 15 Jack Taylor, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 18 Callum Bustin, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue (Tucker 69), 10 Harry Dunne, 9 Sam Veall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 27) (Rylance 69), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Capps 51), 3 Danny Rylance (Denman 27), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Marcus Payne (Cambier 51), 12 Aydan Godden, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Rupert Kay, 17 Alastair Donkor, 30 Gareth Denman, 27 Cade Cambier, 21 George Tucker.
Harrogate: 15 Charles Buckley, 14 Rupert Scrase, 13 Will Rawlinson (Walker 48), 12 Harry Yates, 11 Will Yates, 10 Tom Steene (Rawlinson 55), 9 Ben Raubitschek (Fox 73), 1 Jacob Percival (Baxter 65), 2 Steven Maycock, 3 Tom Baxter (Elsayed 41), 4 Sam Fenn (Jones 41), 5 Sam Brady (Capt.), 6 Martin Dodds, 7 Will Hill (Jackson 53) (Fenn 70), 8 Thomas Spencer-Jones.
Replacements: 17 Seifeldin Elsayed, 18 Chris Jackson, 16 Greg Jones, 19 Harrison Walker, 21 Sam Fox.
