Rotherham Titans made it 4 wins on the spin as they out-muscled a physical Huddersfield outfit 43-15 on a warm, but windy afternoon at Clifton Lane.
Roth outscored their Yorkshire rivals by 6 tries to 2, with Luke Cole, Loma Kivalu, Harry Dunne, Zak Poole, Kareem Eissa and Jack Taylor all going over, whilst Will Milner added 13 points from the tee.
In a typically gritty and full-blooded Yorkshire derby, Rotherham had to match the intensity of the visitors to earn the right to eventually ease away in the second half.
Indeed it was Field who set the tempo at the start and nosed ahead inside 5 minutes with a George Collins penalty.
Roth levelled soon after with a Will Milner penalty and then went ahead when hooker Luke Cole dotted down from the tail of a maul.
However, a spirited Field outfit were up for a battle and midway through the half, after some hard yards were made by the forwards, the ball was fed out across the line for winger Fin Stewart to score in the corner.
The game had an edge about it as both sides looked to secure the upper hand and gain dominance.
Eventually the arm wrestle was won by the Titans as they met the challenge head on.
This resulted in two quick fire tries late in the half, as firstly prop forward Loma Kivalu broke the line and galloped home from 20 meters, before in time added on a lovely long miss-pass from JB Bruzulier enabled Harry Dunne to go over in the corner.
The second half, whilst competitive, saw the home side ease away as they added a further 3 scores.
Before the hour mark the game was effectively wrapped up and the bonus point sealed when skipper Zak Poole barged his way over next to the sticks.
The Roth wingers then got in on the act as Kareem Eissa dotted down in the left corner following a skilful offload in contact from Jack Townend, before the full back then sent in Jack Taylor in the opposite corner.
Just as it appeared Huddersfield would be nilled in the second half, Ed Barber popped up in injury time to avert that disappointment.
Overall Rotherham will be delighted to have overcome such a rugged outfit as Huddersfield and to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
The focus will quickly shift now onto the next game and another tough challenge away at Tynedale.
Speaking after the match Roth’s head coach, Gary Pearce said:
“Huddersfield came here with a bit of physicality, but our lads got stuck in and we played some good rugby as well.
“I don’t think the scoreline reflects the game, I think we left a few points out there; but we were after a performance and I think we got a high-tempo one from the lads, particularly in the second half. I was really pleased with the lads.
“Huddersfield looked to take us on up front and I think that suited us; we always come through at the end. We were the dominant side and our defence was strong, I think we’ve taken a step forward today against probably the toughest opposition we’ve faced this year.
“You have to give them credit, they fronted up well; they’re a big, heavy bunch and they gave us a good contest.
“I was pleased with all our lads today, we showed a bit of spirit, a bit of heart and a bit of commitment and we played at a higher tempo which is much better for us.
“We’ll now switch our focus onto Tynedale; it’s always a tough place to go. They’ve not had the greatest start to the season, but at home they always make it difficult for the opposition.
“But we’ll just concentrate on ourselves and on our own preparations and we look forward to the challenge next week.”
Referee: Peter Connor
Attendance: 250
Yellow Card: Eissa (Titans), Barber (Huddersfield)
Titans: Cole (T), Kivalu (T), Dunne (T), Poole (T), Eissa (T), Taylor (T), Milner (5C, 1P)
Huddersfield: Fin Stewart (T), Barber (T), Collins (1C, 1P)
Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Dan Rundle (Eissa 59), 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier (Rundle 71), 1 Charlie Capps (Kivalu 26) (Capps 49), 2 Luke Cole (Bergmanas 46), 30 Reece Ward (Denman 26) (Ward 73), 4 Matt Challinor (Cole78), 5 Matt Smith, 6 Marcus Payne (Allan 46), 7 Rupert Kay (Payne 71), 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Loma Kivalu, 3 Gareth Denman, 27 Lewis Allan, 20 Kareem Eissa.
Huddersfield: 15 Kian Stewart (Nicholson 63), 14 Fin Stewart, 13 Lewis Workman, 12 Ed Barber, 11 Max Horsfall, 10 George Collins, 22 Josh Walker, 1 Callum Thompson (Capt.) (Rollins 51), 2 Ethan Myers (Moore 57), 3 Harry Whitfield (Rollins 26) (Whitfield 40), 4 Alex Dawson (Haywood 19) (Dawson 26), 5 Thiu Barnard (Myers 68), 6 Lewis Quinn, 7 Ross Thornton, 8 Billy Hammond (Haywood 51).
Replacements: 16 Andy Rollins, 17 Harry Moore, 18 Kieran Nicholson, 19 Tom Haywood, 9 Simon Wilson.
