Rotherham Titans had to battle hard for their well-deserved 33-15 win over Birmingham Moseley on a bright afternoon at Billesley Common.
Titans outscored the hosts by three tries to two with scores from Luckas Sableman-Blue, Ellis Thomas and Lloyd Hayes, with the latter also adding 18 points from the tee.
The win, Titans eighth in nine outings, keeps them second in the league and well in the mix at the top, just two points behind leaders Rosslyn Park.
The game was keenly contested throughout but it was Rotherham who enjoyed the lion’s share of territory and possession.
However, it took the visitors until the 17th minute before they turned pressure into points, when Lloyd Hayes knocked over a penalty.
Hayes quickly added to the score moments later when he eyed a gap in the Moseley defence to squeeze through to score, before dusting himself down to add the extras.
Enjoying the limelight Hayes added to his personal tally just after the half hour mark with his second penalty, after more Titans pressure reaped its rewards.
However, in the final play of the half Moseley got on the board when winger Sam Clarke scurried over in the corner for an unconverted try.
Following the break, in a slightly more even half, Moseley opened the scoring when Tighe Maxwell-Whiteley slotted over a 3-pointer.
The sides then traded scores when firstly Titans wing Luckas Sableman-Blue finished off after receiving a nice pass from Travis Gordon, before Mose second rower Fin Smith darted over shortly after, to keep the home sides deficit to just 5 points.
However, two more penalties from the reliable boot of Hayes soon relieved the pressure as he extended Titans advantage to 11 points.
The icing on the cake was applied for Rotherham late on when powerful number 8 Ellis Thomas bulldozed his way over.
Titans were unable to collect the try bonus point in the time remaining, but any win at Billesley Common is considered a tremendous result.
Titans will now make sure they prepare accordingly for the visit of Blackheath to Clifton Lane on Saturday.
Speaking afterwards Titans Harvey Biljon said:
“That was one hell of a game, it looked like a top end National 1 game.
“For whatever reason Birmingham Moseley haven’t started the season as well as they would have hoped, but they showed today they’re going to push a lot of teams throughout the season. They were organised and kept going right up until the end.
“Our players stepped up to the heavy physical battle that Birmingham Moseley offered; we showed a fair bit of composure and control, yet we still come away with a feeling like did we miss one or two opportunities?
“Now, I’m immensely proud of that performance, we looked organised and controlled, but we just need to make sure we can close out those one or two opportunities.
“I was impressed with the team’s discipline, which makes a big difference; our control of the pitch and our defensive sets inside our 22.”
Titans: Sableman-Blue (T), Thomas (T), Hayes (T, 4P, 3C)
Birmingham Moseley: Clarke (T), F. Smith (T), Maxwell-Whiteley (1P, 1C)
Yellow Card: Safe (Moseley)
Attendance: 782
Referee: Jack Moorhouse
Assistant Referees: Ian Farrell & Matt Daubney
Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Jackson Barling (Broad 75), 13 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola, 12 Travis Gordon, 11 Luckas Sableman-Blue, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 Sinjin Broad (Metcalfe 57), 1 Alastair Donkor (Toerien 67), 2 Morgan Veness (Cole 67), 3 Andrew Foster (Valentine 55), 4 Frankie Gascoigne (Teague 55), 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Capt.), 8 Ellis Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Xavier Valentine, 19 Cory Teague, 20 Will Metcalfe.
Birmingham Moseley: 15 Perry Humphreys (Jones 79), 14 Sam Clarke, 13 Elliott Creed, 12 Harry Jones (Taylor 55), 11 Aquile Smith, 10 Tighe Maxwell-Whiteley, 9 Harry Gipson (Jolly 55), 1 Ethan Priest (Ma’a 41), 2 Ben Pogson (McNulty 34), 3 David Langley (Priest 57), 4 Harry Butler, 5 Fin Smith (Mifsud 78), 6 Louis Mifsud (Edwards 51), 7 Morgan Dawes, 8 Will Safe (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Sam McNulty, 17 Fred Ma’a, 18 Santiago Edwards, 19 Jack Jolly, 20 Tommy Taylor.
