National Division 1

2nd September 2006

Billesley Common

Kick Off 3.00pm

Moseley 13

Titans 35

V

Earth Titans:

15 Brendan Burke, 14 Tom Allen, 13 Brian Touhy, 12 Bernard Hennessey (Jon Buchanan 69), 11 Showan Smith, 10 Mike Whitehead (Gareth Steenson 69), 9 Joe Bedford (Jamie Blackwood 76), 1 Jarleth Carey, 2 Nigel Conroy (Neil Hannah 62), 3 Adam Hopcroft (Steve Croall 76), 4 Jannie Bornman, 5 Erik Lund (Louis McGowan 62), 6 Hendre Fourie, 7 Neil Cochrane (Capt), 8 Barry Jacobsz (Mike McComish 60).

Replacements

16 Steve Croall, 17 Louis McGowan, 18 Jon Buchanan, 19 Gareth Steenson, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Neil Hannah, 22 Jamie Blackwood.

Moseley:

15 Thomas, 14 Binns, 13 O'Leary (Capt), 12 Peacock, 11 Colvin, 10 Macdonald, 9 Knight, 1 Coles, 2 Caves, 3 Bayliss, 4 Arnold, 5 Hadley, 6 Stott, 7 Mason, 8 Rodwell.

Replacements: 16 Bick, 17 Buxton, 18 Sigley, 19 Warren, 20 Hunter, 21 Skelding, 22 Holder

Post match Head Coach Andre Bester said, “It’s a win, we got the 5 points and that’s all that matters – how we achieve that, it doesn’t matter! The conditions were very very tough, we played well but we did make some individual errors and were a little bit rusty at times.

“It was a good team performance, they showed good discipline and everyone worked very hard. There is a good spirit in the team, we know what we can achieve and we know it’s going to be very hard week in week out throughout the season.”

Playing into a gale force wind in the first half was always going to be a test for the Titans and Moseley crept into a 6-0 lead with penalties on 10 and 12 minutes from full back Olly Thomas.

Then midway through the first half, Moseley Skipper Daren O’leary intercepted a pass on halfway and proceeded to make good ground before side-stepping two tackles to touch down near the posts. Thomas converted to give the hosts a dream 13-0 start.

The Titans continued to battle manfully in the dreadful conditions and secured most of the possession, albeit within their own half of the pitch. Kicking was simply not an option!

The visitors were rewarded for their endeavour three minutes into injury time. A break by Showan Smith was re-cycled and when Joe Bedford found Barry Jacobsz, he crashed over from close range. Mike Whitehead slotted the conversion to conclude the first half and the players headed off for the sanctuary of a dry dressing room.

Half Time: Moseley 13-7 Titans

Within the first 12 minutes of the second half, the game and bonus point was nicely wrapped up for the Titans. Three converted tries from Showan Smith, Tom Allen and Brendan Burke demonstrated the class and the potential for this Rotherham squad.

From the hour mark onwards a raft of replacements from both sides disrupted the flow of the game. However Rotherham continued their dominance, particularly up front and when referee Copsey awarded Roth a penalty try late on, it was no more than the visitors deserved. New recruit Gareth Steenson tagged on the extras for his first points for the club and to round off a good team performance in difficult conditions.

Final Score: Moseley 13-35 Titans

Afterwards an upbeat Titans Captain, Neil Cochrane said, “The boys spoke in the week about not being complacent coming into this game; we knew they were going to come out fighting. The conditions were difficult but we kept hold of the ball, played our patterns and just dominated up front. We still have a lot of work to do on our set piece but it was tough in those conditions, although that’s not an excuse. But second half we showed our class by scoring four tries.

“Our centres were outstanding; I thought Brian Tuohy and Bernard Hennessey were sensational, especially in the second half. They showed great awareness, great hands, off-loading in the tackle and good strength going forward. Barry Jacobsz showed again and got his third try of the season already. Showan Smith again was a rock going forward and a rock in defence as well.

“All we came down here for was to get the win, we said let’s get the win and then go for the five points. We’ve done that, we’re happy, we’ve got the W, we’ll take it into next week and we’ll start again. We’ve just got to take each game as it comes and not get complacent, but as long as we develop a winning mentality within the squad, that will bode well for the future.”

Attendance:  998

Other Weekend Results

Saturday, 02 September 2006

Bedford 29 – 29 Pertemps Bees

Doncaster 27 – 11 Newbury

Sedgley Park 17 – 32 Coventry

Waterloo 9 – 45 Plymouth Albion

Sunday, 03 September 2006

Cornish Pirates 39 – 0 Otley

Leeds 10 – 16 London Welsh

Nottingham 19 – 24 Exeter

National Division 1

Coventry v Rotherham 9 September at the Butts Park Arena.

kick off 2.30pm