Rotherham Titans delivered a ruthless statement of intent at Park Lane, dismantling Sedgley Park 68–7 in blustery, cool conditions to remain firmly in control at the top of National League 1.
Outscoring their hosts by ten tries to one, the visitors combined power, precision, and flair—particularly in a dominant second half—to record their biggest away win of the season.
Despite the eventual scoreline, the opening exchanges were anything but one-sided.
Roared on by a spirited home crowd, that was more than matched by a large travelling contingent from Rotherham, Sedgley Park matched the league leaders physically and territorially for much of the first 20 minutes.
That early resistance was rewarded on 20 minutes when prop forward Beltus Nonleh crashed over from close range after a sustained spell of pressure. The try, scored next to the posts, was a deserved breakthrough for the hosts and briefly lifted hopes of an upset as Sedgley took a 7–0 lead.
However, that moment proved to be the spark Rotherham needed. Stung into action and urged on by a large travelling support, the Titans responded with immediate authority, turning the game decisively in their favour with two quickfire tries.
Just two minutes after falling behind, Lloyd Hayes finished off a slick attacking move to level the scores. Almost straight from the restart, Jackson Barling crossed to put the visitors ahead, capping a devastating burst that shifted momentum entirely.
From that point on, Rotherham began to assert their superiority. Their forward pack laid a solid platform, while the backs started to find space and rhythm, exploiting gaps in the Sedgley defence.
Isaac Shaw added a third try on 35 minutes, finishing a well-worked phase of play, before JB Bruzulier secured the all-important bonus point just before the interval. At 28–7 heading into half-time, the Titans had turned a tight contest into a commanding lead.
If the first half had shown glimpses of Rotherham’s quality, the second half underlined it emphatically. With the wind at their backs and confidence flowing, the visitors moved through the gears and produced a clinical, expansive display that left Sedgley chasing shadows.
Rob Povey opened the second-half scoring on 47 minutes, finishing off another cohesive attacking sequence. James Norman followed with a try on 55 minutes, before John Okafor powered over just three minutes later as the Titans’ relentless pressure continued to tell.
Sedgley, to their credit, never stopped competing. They continued to tackle bravely and looked for opportunities to counter, but Rotherham’s organisation and execution proved too strong. The visitors’ backs, in particular, were outstanding—handling cleanly in difficult conditions and linking play with impressive skill and vision.
Isaac Shaw grabbed his second try of the afternoon on 70 minutes, underlining his influence on the game, before Sinjin Broad added another just three minutes later as the scoreboard began to reflect the Titans’ dominance. The final word went to Morgan Veness, who crossed in the 78th minute to complete the rout and bring up the tenth try of the match.
While the scoreline was undeniably harsh on Sedgley Park, their effort could not be questioned. For the opening quarter especially, they showed they could compete with the league leaders, and their early try was a just reward for that endeavour. However, once Rotherham found their rhythm, the gap in execution and depth became evident.
For Rotherham, this was a performance that underlines their title credentials. Clinical when opportunities arose and increasingly expansive as the game opened up, they demonstrated both power up front and creativity behind. Crucially, the victory keeps them top of the table and firmly in control of their own destiny.
With one round remaining, the equation is simple: a win over Sale FC next week at Clifton Lane will secure the National League 1 title.
Reflecting afterward Titans Harvey Biljon said:
“I can’t take anything away from the players performance; to stay focussed and score 68 points is an incredible performance and how disciplined they were to stay on task.
“Sedgley definitely threw everything at us in that first 20 minutes and they went 7-0 up in that period, but the way our players responded was a replica of how they’ve trained and prepared.
“I must make mention of our supporters and the number of them that were here today.
“We spoke about it in the dressing room, the impact of them really getting behind us through all the difficult moments during the season and we want to reward them with a performance next week at home.
“We’ve come away from home for a tricky fixture and we are going to enjoy this performance and then make sure we do our due diligence as always.
“We’re not going to change a thing, we’ll do what we always do, and we’ll make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas in Tuesday night’s training, and we’ll work into Thursday and then into Saturday.”
Titans: Shaw (2T), Barling (T), Bruzulier (T), Povey (T), Norman (T), Okafor (T), Broad (T), Veness (T), Hayes (T, 9C)
Sedgley Park: Nonleh (T), Glasse (1C)
Yellow Card: None
Referee: Jack Sargentina
Assistant Referees: Simon Harrison & Paul Fincken
Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Jackson Barling, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola 11 James Norman, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier (Broad 55), 1 Alastair Donkor (Mitchell 52), 2 Luke Cole (Veness 55), 3 Andrew Foster (Valentine 52), 4 Curran Maguire, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox (Hastie 56), 6 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Capt.), 8 Jack Baldry.
Replacements: 16 Morgan Veness, 17 Calvin Mitchell, 18 Xavier Valentine, 19 Fraser Hastie, 20 Sinjin Broad.
Sedgley Park: 15 Aaron Tongue, 14 Sam Thorpe, 13 Matt Law, 12 Ollie Glasse (Tansey 63), 11 Tom Hesketh, 10 Greg Smith, 9 Matt Sturgess, 1 John Blanchard (Downham 54), 2 Adam Mallinson (Poole 69), 3 Beltus Nonleh (Rylance 54), 4 Bob Birtwell, 5 Connor James (Capt.), 6 Will Bennett (Houghton 25), 7 Isaac Deans, 8 Jack Ellam (Mallinson 73).
Replacements: 16 Austin Downham, 17 Matt Houghton, 18 Danny Rylance, 19 Ethan Poole, 20 Jacob Tansey.
