Nottingham 7 Rotherham Titans 51: Bristol blip cast aside as Titans respond with emphatic victory

In a strong all-round performance during which they attacked as well as they defended, winger Curtis Wilson scored a thrilling hat-trick of tries: his first came after only 43 seconds and then his pace added another two.

Rotherham’s 13th win in 18 Championship matches consolidates their position in the top four and if they can maintain this form, a place in the promotion play-offs is almost a certainty.

Solid defence and the failure of the East Midlands’ club to take their chances meant that the Titans were reprieved on several occasions.

In contrast, Rotherham were ruthless, scoring four tries in each half. In addition to Wilson’s pace, full-back Sean Scanlon also revealed the ability to seize openings as he touched down twice.

The Titans, who led 29-7 at half-time, also scored through flanker Ali Birch, fly half Dallan Murphy and winger Michael Keating.

It was a sign of Rotherham’s growing development that they were not tempted to slacken when the game had been won by the interval. Rotherham’s handling and the ability to create and then to dash through gaps in the defence was impressive.

The one weakness was conceding a try in the sixth minute from a line out. As Bristol showed, Rotherham periodically struggle to defend against a pack of forwards driving a short distance.

“It was crucial to get this win and it’s great for our morale,” said Wilson. “We were a bit low after the Bristol game but we showed we were a good side against Nottingham. We picked ourselves up and came back stronger at Meadow Lane.”

Nottingham: Lynn, Woodburn, Munroe (Molloy 69), Pohe, Hough, Jarvis, Romans (Lee-Everton 56), Macau (Bower 56), Vickers, Holford (Williams 56), Freeman, Montague (Price 65), Skuse, Wilson, Shaw (Cooper 56).

Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Keating, Roberts (Davies 42), Socino, Wilson, Murphy(Law 60), Mulchrone (White 42), Hislop(Gadd 12), Sowrey, Quigley(Tampin 60),T homas-Brown(Holmes 52), Sanderson, Birch, Preece(Morris 52), Rieder.

Referee: D Gamage.