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