Rotherham Titans put in a huge physical effort before ultimately falling short as they went down 23-20 to Plymouth Albion on a grey afternoon at Brickfields
The sides shared 6 tries in this attritional encounter with Titans dot downs coming from Morgan Veness, Callum Bustin and Ronnie Du Randt, with Lloyd Hayes adding 5 points from the tee.
Titans were under the pump from the off with Albion starting the game much the brighter.
Indeed, Rotherham seldom got out of their own half inside the opening 20 minutes, and it was testament to their defensive resilience that the home side led by just 3 points at this stage: a Tom Putt penalty being the only reward for their dominance.
When Rotherham finally got inside the Albion half they wasted little time in prospering from their visits, as they scored two tries inside five minutes.
Firstly, hooker Morgan Veness finished off from the tail of a powerful maul and then Callum Bustin collected and showed good pace and power as he charged in from distance to score. Hayes converted the latter to give Rotherham a 12-3 lead.
A visit to Brickfields is notoriously a difficult place to go and get a result and there are various reasons for that.
However, the fact they have a very good team is the main reason and Albion quickly bounced back with a converted try from centre Archie Hill.
Just before half time the home side retook the lead when Tom Putt knocked over a 3-pointer.
With the wind now in Titans favour they wasted little time in retaking the lead when Lloyd Hayes slotted a nice 3-pointer from distance.
The lead was short lived however as Albion stormed back and following a period of forward pressure inside the Titans 22, hooker Harry Wilkinson barged his way over for a try to nudge his side 18-15 ahead.
Before the hour mark however, disaster struck for Rotherham as captain Zak Poole received a second yellow card for a high tackle and was red carded, leaving Titans with 14 men for the remainder of the game.
Encouraged, Albion stepped up their intensity as they looked to make their numerical advantage count.
As the game went into the final 10 minutes the pressure finally told on Rotherham’s defence as Albion’s loose head prop Ethan Burger went over for his side’s third try, to stretch the lead to 23-15.
To their credit Rotherham never gave up and late on in the game their endeavours were rewarded when Ronnie Du Randt dotted down in the corner.
Trailing now by just 3 points but with time quickly running out, Rotherham went in search of a fourth try that would have given them the bonus point win.
Unfortunately for them however, Albion’s defence stood firm as they held on for the win which keeps them in contention at the business end of the table.
Rotherham will now rest a few bumps and bruises before switching their focus to the visit of Sedgley Park to Clifton Lane on Saturday, as they continue their pursuit of Richmond at the top.
Reflecting afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon said:
“What a helluva game to be part of; to come all the way down to Plymouth and come away with a point is a great result for Rotherham Titans.
“We need to put this into context; Rotherham absorbed a huge amount of pressure through the beginning of that game. I think we did get a score against the run of play, but that kept us in it.
“But you have to understand you can’t play the game away from home with 14 players for over 45 minutes, but I don’t want to focus on that.
“The key thing we should be focused on is the resilience we showed with 14 men to stay in the game and then to still be playing at the death trying to win the match.
“That for me shows great character and how great is it going to be, to be part of this run-in through the back end of the season.”
Titans: Veness (T), Bustin (T), Du Randt (T), (Hayes (1C, 1P)
Plymouth Albion: Hill (T), Wilkinson (T), Burger (T), (Putt 1C, 2P)
Yellow Card: Newborn (Titans)
Red Card: Poole (Titans)
Attendance: 1542
Referee: Matt Sharpe
Assistant Referees: Peter Dixon & Dave Philpot
Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi (Okafor 59), 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Ronnie Du Randt, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Zach Toerien (Capps 30), 2 Morgan Veness (Maguire 69), 3 Eoin Harrison (Foster 30), 4 Zak Poole ©, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 Travis Gordon, 7 Harry Newborn, 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 John Okafor, 17 Charlie Capps ©, 18 Andrew Foster, 27 Curran Maguire, 21 James Naylor.
Plymouth Albion: 15 Tom Putt (Dart 59), 14 Shae Cornish, 13 Israel Akinrowo, 12 Archie Hill, 11 Bobby Wigginton, 10 Harry Legg, 9 Jack Oulton ©, 1 Ethan Burger (Boughton 71), 2 Harry Wilkinson (Williams 62), 3 Jenson Boughton (Dan Pullinger 48), 4 Joel Broadhurst (Burger 75), 5 Jake Clemson, 6 Jago Sheppard, 7 Jake Bond (Mead 65), 8 Ben Moa (Clarke 62).
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Torin Clarke, 18 Dan Pullinger, 22 Gabe Mead, 20 Frankie Dart.
