Rotherham Titans 26 Doncaster Knights 25: Titans eye play-offs as Knights pull clear from drop

Rotherham’s narrowest of wins kept alive their ambition of co mpeting in the play-offs again, and the two points Doncaster earned confirmed the club’s Championship status for next season.

While the Knights can relax, Rotherham willingly face the pressure of trying to ensure they retain their place in the top four.

If that is to happen so much depends on the result of Friday’s battle against Nottingham at The Bay near Trent Bridge where both teams, separated by only one point, fight for the right to join Bristol, Worcester and London Scottish in the play-offs.

If Rotherham are to succeed in this winner-takes-all contest, they will need to eradicate errors and weaknesses that almost set up a victory for Doncaster, who outscored the Titans by four tries to two in their last home match at Clifton Lane.

The Knights’ pack, on top in the first half, scored three tries by forwards Matt Challinor, Ben Hunter and Michael Hills, all from driving mauls following lineouts close to Rotherham’s line.

They then went over for a fourth try just after the restart as flanker Hills scored his second to create a lead of 22-16.

Rotherham’s indiscipline, which included a yellow card on 36 minutes against prop Robin Hislop, put them in deep trouble.

Both Hills’ tries were produced when the Titans were down to 14 men, though, earlier, Doncaster, too, had upset the referee. Before Rotherham fly-half James McKinney limped off with a leg injury, which may mean he misses the Nottingham match, he had put over three penalties.

This indiscipline deteriorated with a yellow card that sent prop Colin Quigley to the sin bin for pulling down a maul. This resulted in the first of two penalty tries awarded to Rotherham, who were leading 16-5, but then gave away the initiative as Doncaster’s superior forwards scored tries on 35, 39 and 43 minutes.

Rotherham needed to improve if they were to beat Doncaster for the second time in the Championship this season.

The forwards, typified by Mark Tampin, Barney Maddison and Alex Rieder, rose to the challenge; the Knights were forced to play for large periods in their own half and with Rotherham tackling effectively, Doncaster’s progress was limited.

Arguably, the turning point arrived on 62 minutes as Doncaster, who had been pinned to their line for several minutes by a reinvigorated Rotherham pack, gave away a second penalty try.

The conversion by McKinney’s replacement, Tom Barrett, changed the lead again to 23-22, but the momentum seemed to switch once more to Doncaster 10 minutes later when Knights goal kicker Dougie Flockhart, making amends for three earlier failures, succeeded with his penalty.

Doncaster now led 25-23, but as before, such as when No 8 Ollie Stedman dropped the ball as he was about to score what could have been a match-winning try, errors continued.

The Knights were penalised again at the scrum late in the second half. Barrett’s calmly-struck penalty regained a one-point lead for Rotherham, whose forwards managed to retain the control they had applied for almost all the second period.

The Titans’ victory not only took them back into fourth, but also enabled them to finish the Championship season as Yorkshire’s top club, having beaten Doncaster and Yorkshire each twice in the league.

But as Rotherham scrum-half Dan White said a huge challenge awaits. “Nottingham have a big, physical pack. They are no mugs. They did their homework when they beat us here. This win means that getting to the play-offs is in our own hands and we must put right the indiscipline.”

Now that Doncaster’s future is secure, coach Clive Griffiths will announce new signings shortly. “Rotherham won this battle but the war between the clubs rumbles on,” he warned.

Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Wilson, Hayes, Davies, Keating, McKinney (Barrett 26), White, Hislop(Williams 65), Dunn (Cruse 42), Tampin(Thiede 60), Thomas(Parker 42), Maddison, Argye (Birch 62), Preece, Rieder.

Doncaster Knights: Jarvis, Flockhart, Catchpole, Clark, Lewis, Roberts (Fosita 71), Field (Bravo 71), List (Bergmanas 71), Hunter (Thacker 54), Quigley (John 60), Hotson, Phelen (Foden 65), Challinor, Hills, Stedman.

Referee: A Small.