Rotherham Titans were made to work hard for their well-deserved 28-9 win over Yorkshire rivals Hull on a blustery afternoon at Clifton Lane.
Titans outscored Hull by three tries to nil with Will Milner, Charlie Caps and Matt Challinor all dotting down, whilst Lloyd Hayes added 13 points from the tee.
The win keeps Titans unbeaten record intact and sets up nicely this weekend’s trip to fellow unbeaten side and league leaders Leeds.
This game was good preparation for Leeds, as Hull proved to be extremely tough and competitive throughout and Rotherham shouldn’t be disappointed at not claiming the bonus point.
Indeed it was Hull that raced out of the blocks brightly and got the scoreboard ticking over first when fly half Reece Dean knocked over an early penalty.
Rotherham needed to be mentally “on it” for this game and they certainly were as they faced a huge physical challenge from a powerful side, both in the backs as well as in the forwards.
Inside 10 minutes Roth went ahead when fly half Will Milner, after collecting a sharp pass from Will Metcalfe, showed immense strength to power over the line with Hull defenders hanging from him. Lloyd Hayes converted from in front of the sticks.
Before long Hull retook the lead following two more penalty kicks from Dean to make it 9-7, as Rotherham began to lose a little discipline.
Roth regathered themselves as the half wore on and they began to get the upper hand in the match; this led to Hayes knocking over his second penalty to nose his side back ahead.
That advantage was stretched in the final play of the half when loose head prop Charlie Capps barged his way over following a huge pack effort close to the line. Hayes converted to take it to 17-9 and ensured the half time oranges tasted that bit sweeter.
The second half saw Rotherham enjoy lots of territory and possession with Hull seldom threatening the home line; indeed Hull were nilled by an impressive Rotherham display.
Two further penalties from Hayes 10 minutes in made it 23-9, before on the hour mark Rotherham scored their third try when lock forward Matt Challinor barge over.
Try as they might however Roth were unable to add to their tally as Hull showed tremendous determination and spirit to keep them out.
Titans can be mighty pleased with the win over a side that must surely finish inside the top 5 this season and now Roth will switch their attention to the encounter in West Yorkshire this Saturday against Leeds.
Speaking after the game head coach Gaz Lewis said:
“I think we did a lot of things well; we played field position in the second half, we didn’t quite get the detail right around our maul, but I’m not quite sure about the legalities in how they defended it and we’ll have a look at that later.
“However we got the win and we should be proud of that and we’ve continued our winning momentum.
“Will Metcalfe at scrum half on debut played well; I thought he marshalled the game fine, he was sharp around the breakdown and he’s hungry to learn and improve and he has lots of potential.
“The season is building nicely; the game next week against Leeds has been on everyone’s lips and we’ve done well to keep our focus on the job in hand each week.”
Referee: Peter Connor
Attendance: 250
Yellow Card: Kivalu (Titans), Logavatu (Hull)
Titans: Milner (T), Caps (T), Challinor (T), Hayes (2C, 3P)
Hull: Dean (3P)
Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi (Dunne 53), 11 Jack Render, 10 Will Milner, 9 Will Metcalfe (Bruzulier 50), 1 Loma Kivalu (Cowen-Leak 35), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Cole 55), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 28), 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 19 John Okafor, 7 Laurence Cowen-Leak (Capps 28), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Charlie Capps, 3 Gareth Denman, 20 Harry Dunne, 23 JB Bruzulier.
Hull: 15 Jamie Shaul, 14 Ali Heard, 13 Duell Trueman, 12 Bureta Faraimo (Hudson 65), 11 Harrison Astley, 10 Reece Dean, 9 David Davidson, 1 Jamie Major (Beech 40) (Major 76), 2 Mike Jobling, 3 Tomas Bairstow, 4 Paulos Latu (Logavatu 40), 5 Liam Regardsoe, 6 David Halaifonua (Nasilasila 61), 7 Evi Uriburu-Gray (Russell 52), 8 Will Hall.
Replacements: 16 Kym Russell, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Mosese Nasilasila, 19 Joji Logavatu, 20 Peter Hudson.
Photo Credit: Rotherham Advertiser