National Division 1

21st October 2006

Earth Arena

3.00pm

Titans 47

Welsh 6

Earth Titans

15 Mike Whitehead (Brendan Burke 73), 14 Brian Touhy, 13 Tom Allen, 12 Jon Buchanan, 11 Geoff Griffiths, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Jamie Blackwood, 1 Sam Walsh, 2 Hendre Fourie (Neil Hanna 58), 3 Steve Croall (Adam Hopcroft 27) (Steve Croall 67), 4 Louis McGowan (Henry Head 64), 5 Erik Lund, 6 Michael McComish (Jamie Sutton 67), 7 Neil Cochrane (Capt), 8 Jannie Bornman.

Replacements: 16 Henry Head, 17 Jamie Sutton, 18 Neil Hanna, 19 Adam Hopcroft, 20 Brendan Burke, 21 Bernard Hennessey, 22 Joe Bedford.

London Welsh

15 Ulph, 14 Cadwallader, 13 Storey, 12 Hayward, 11 Holgate, 10 Marks, 9  Shaw, 1 Williams, 2 Tauialo, 3 Marsters, 4 Quigley (Capt), 5 Collier, 6 McNamee, 7 Anayi, 8 Daish.

Replacements:  16 Millard, 17 Kwasniki, 18 Andrews, 19 Clarke, 20 Walbyoff, 21 Meenan, 22 Cannon.

Post match a satisfied Andre Bester said, “They (London Welsh) played well in the first half and controlled the ball well, we had very little control and we had slow ball. Teams come out and make it difficult for us to break them down in the first half, but we are a team that will eventually break you.

“In the second half they were dead on their feet, we raised the tempo and the minute we did that, they were out of the game.”

Was Bester pleased at not conceding a try? Not really, he wanted more and explained, “The two penalties they scored from, definitely should have not been penalties!”

Bester went on to give praise to the two debutants Geoff Griffiths and Jamie Sutton, “Geoff Griffiths was my man of the match! For a young guy like that to come out and play the way he did, very composed, very dangerous when he got the ball in his hand, always making yards. He supported well, defended well and he was very aggressive in the contact situation. I also thought Jamie Sutton did very well when he came on, he was excellent.”

After a slow Rotherham start which saw the visitors take a 6-0 lead with two penalties from full back Sam Ulph, Roth finally found their stride five minutes before the break.

First of all, winger Brian Tuohy went over and then the versatile Hendre Fourie crashed through on the stroke of half time. Both players had Jannie Bornman to thank as he was influential in both tries, demonstrating good speed and tremendous strength.

Fourie got his second try of the match just five minutes into the second half, although there was speculation that he may have dropped the ball before grounding.

On 51 minutes the bonus point and the match was secured as Titans skipper Neil Cochrane touched down. This came from a catch and drive move ten metres from the visitor’s line. Once again the Roth pack demonstrated their prowess in the driving maul.

As the game wore on it became very one sided as the Welsh appeared to run out of gas. Then either side of the hour mark, Roth’s try machine Brian Tuohy helped himself to two further tries. This time it was Mike Whitehead who was heavily involved in creating both opportunities.

Debutant speedster Geoff Griffiths - a 20 year old student at Sheffield University – rounded off the game with a neat touch down near the posts after co-debutant Jamie Sutton had played him in.

Gareth Steenson continued to show why he has the kicking duties at the moment with another perfect six out of six. He was off the field for Roth’s first try of the match, having been yellow carded for “killing” the ball.

Final Score: Rotherham 47-6 London Welsh

Afterwards Bester’s man of the match Geoff Griffiths said, “I thought it went really well from a personal perspective, it was good to get my hands on the ball early and settle into the game – it was good fun out there. Andre told me on Monday that I’d be starting; I didn’t suffer from any nerves as I’d played at this level a couple of years ago for Bedford.

“Jamie Sutton slipped me in at the end and it felt brilliant to score my first try at this level. It’s good to get off the mark straightaway. I’d love to get the opportunity to play a lot more with the first team, but that’s down to Andre, we‘ve got a very strong squad here.”

But as always the last word went to Mr. Bester when he announced the worst kept secret - Errie Claassens had returned to Rotherham. He quipped, “It’s tough to live with me, but it’s much tougher to live without me!”

Attendance: 1321

Other Weekend Results

Coventry 20-3 Otley

Exeter 13-22 Waterloo

Leeds 30-18 Doncaster

Moseley 32-25 Sedgley Park

Pertemps Bees 27-33 Newbury

Sun 22 October 06

Cornish Pirates 35-5 Bedford

Nottingham 14-13 Plymouth Albion

National Division 1

Sedgley Park v Rotherham - 28 October, at Park Lane.

kick off 3.00pm