Albion 14 - Titans 11

A close match that saw fingers get shorter as we approached the final whistle. Played in perfect conditions with no wind to speak of and a cloudless sky everything was looking to a great game of rugby. Two teams at the top end of the table and everything to play for.

The Albion fans were certainly not disappointed in the match or the result and is certainly the most exciting match of the season so far.  Although Albion had the more of the ball the final result was in doubt right up to the final whistle.

An early kick towards the corner by Wihan Neethling from open play bounced just too far and went over the dead ball line for a scrum back. Before ten minutes were up Nic Sestaret broke through the Rotherham defence to score in the right hand corner his 7th try of the season and put Albion in the lead by 5 points. The boot of Wihan did not work this time as the ball went to the left of the posts from 5 metres off the touchline.

As in past matches once Nic gets a try he wants more and within 2 minutes of the restart collecting the ball inside his own half he tapped the ball forward but was only just short of stopping the Titans defence from clearing the ball out of the 22.

Rotherham hit back on 17 minutes when Albion were penalised in the centre of the pitch for not releasing and fly half Gareth Steenson made no mistake. Within the minute Gareth had another chance to put points on the board when Albion were penalised for crossing in a similar position and Rotherham went into the lead.

With Albion on a driving maul the Titans removed their forwards and were rewarded with a penalty for the 'truck and trailer' move. Titans kicked for touch and at the resulting lineout Albion were awarded a free kick for a lineout infringement and then 10 metres for back chat.

Just past the half hour after it looked as though Albion had scored as they had gone over the line after playing the ball from their lineout just 10 metres from the line.  The referee, Tim Beddow, quickly decided that the ball had not been grounded and walked to the 5 metre line for a scrum before the pack started to get up.

Wihan kicked high and then chased the ball but collided with the elbow of a Titans player who was strongly spoken too and a penalty awarded which gave Wihan the opportunity to retake the lead, which he did.

With 34 minutes on the clock and after he had been down injured a number of times Nigel Cane went off injured and was replace for the second time in two matches by Tom Arscott.  Tom went out to right wing with Ed Lewsey moving to scrum half.

With a penalty awarded to Albion for not rolling away at the ruck Wihan scored the last points of the half from 30 metres out and 7 from the left hand touchline.

Albion go into the changing rooms leading by 5 points with a score of 11 - 6 and the crowd on a high. Titans came back to the pitch early and warmed up with some passing practice. Albion came out with no changes to the team.

Rotherham came out with more gusto and when Ed Barnes kicked the ball up high into their 22 they collected the ball and made their way to just short of Albion's try line before Albion manage to stop the progress and regroup their defence.  It was short lived as Titans retained possession and passing out to the right they drew level with a try.  They would have taken the lead but for the posts as the ball bounced back into play after Richard Oxley make a good attempt at charging the kick down.

The scores did not stay level for long, when Titans were penalised for a deliberate knock on Wihan added to his personal total and took Albion back into the lead.

With 7 minutes on the clock in the second half all the scoring was over, but excitement and frustration were not. Both teams spent time close to their opponents try line but a try was never awarded.

On the hour Regardt van Eyk attempted a drop goal on the 22 from in front of the posts but although spectators up the other end of the pitch thought that the ball had gone over a 22 drop out was awarded.

A high kick forward by Wihan was short enough for him to get under and collect passing the ball to Ben Gulliver who was stopped just 15 metres short of the line and when the ball was killed Gareth Steenson was shown the yellow card from the referees pocket and spent 10 minutes in the sin bin. Wihan had a golden opportunity to add points from the penalty in front of the posts but he did not hit the ball well and it went to the left of the posts.

On 72 minutes Arran Cruickshanks comes on for Keni Fisilau but Albion were still unable to take the advantage of the extra man.

As the clocked down in injury time Titans became more desperate and really showed that they wanted a win. Federico Genoud, who had played magnificently during the match, stopped what would have been a magnificent try just short of the line. 

Titans thought that they had a try when they went over the line but the play was bought back much to the annoyance of the attacking team for a forward pass just feet away from the line.

And in the 8th minute of time added on and after about 8 phases of play the Rotherham pack went over the line in the last play of the match but the referee did not see the ball being touched down, like the move by Albion in the first half, and he blew up for the end of the match.

Albion played a team game ,many times when forwards were in the line matching the Rotherham attack. It may be difficult to judge the alllbion man of the match with the new members of the squad seem very much at home in the side and players that have moved on are to some extent forgotten.

Federico has taken on the role of receiver from the restart well and his strength in defence has improved and is strong.  The two locks, Colin and Ben, work well together and their strength in the mauls and lineouts and also open play is great. Richard has settled well into the first choice hooker and almost made a try today and certainly put the kicker off the conversion and saved 2 points. Wihan had a good game but uncharacteristically mist a number of kicks but he still had his very safe pair of hands in defence.

Although it was the lowest scoring match Albion had played this season, it was also the most exciting and nail biting match of all.  The win did not do Albion any real favours as they did not receive a bonus point and Bedford jump over Albion in the table. 

If Cornish Pirates win on Sunday on their visit to Nottingham there will only be 4 points between the top 6 clubs in the league. After 10 matches played and a 3rd of the way through the season this must be the tightest league contest for a very long time. Anyone can win but bonus points will be important come the end of the season.

Photos of the match should be up within the next day.

Referee - Tim Beddow
Attendance 2964
Official Man of the Match Tom Hayes

Albion: Wihan Neethling, Ed Lewsey, Regardt Van Eyk, Keni Fisilau, Nic Sestaret, Ed Barnes, Nigel Cane, Martin Rice, Richard Oxley, Scott Zimmerman, Colin Stewart, Ben Gulliver, Federico Genoud, Danny Thomas, Tom Hayes Replacements: Jon Fabian, Arran Cruickshanks(used), Tim Mathias(used), James Owen, Chris Lowrie, Tom Arscott(used), Brett Stroud

Scorers :- Tries Nic Sestaret Penalties 3x Wihan Neethling

Titans: Mike Whitehead, Brian Tuohy, Brendan Burke, Bernard Hennessey, Tom Allen, Gareth Steenson, Joe Bedford, Sam Walsh, Hendre Fourie, Adam Hopcroft, Louie McGowan, Erik Lund, Barry Jacobsz, Neil Cochrane, Jannie Bornman
Replacements: Steve Croall, Mike McComish, Neil Hanna, Henry Head, Geoff Griffiths, Errie Claassens, Jamie Blackwood.

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