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Rotherham Titans 0 Bristol 15: Irish star Maggs stays upbeat despite defeat
KEVIN MAGGS believes that despite defeat to his former club Bristol, Rotherham Titans have enough collective spirit to finish their season fighting for promotion rather than against relegation.
Rotherham remain in the bottom four of the Championship after a performance befitting of their usual grit and determination, but undermined by handling errors.
They defended admirably against the side relegated from the Premiership, yet if they have any aspirations of joining Bristol in the eight-team play-off at the end of the season to decide who wins promotion to the top flight, they must eradicate the mistakes.
Maggs, the former Bristol centre who played 70 times for
Ireland, was making his first start since returning to the
club he helped to avoid relegation from the second tier last season.
He was brought back to Clifton Lane to help Craig West's side on the pitch and the head coach off it.Having spent the last month with the side, Maggs is confident they can still clamber into the top eight.
"I've never doubted the spirit in this side," he said. "It was one of the reasons why I came back here and why I enjoyed it here last year.
"They're a great bunch of lads and it is a very tight-knit group.
"It just boils down to attention to detail on the pitch and there should be no reason why we are struggling with that.
"In training, we don't make that many mistakes but it's all about getting it right on the day.
"The difference between winning and losing is a couple of mistakes here and there and once we get that right we'll start climbing up the table."
That spirit was required in abundance against Bristol, who have not acclimatised to the task of bouncing straight back as comfortably as Leeds did last season.
They had too much experience and power, though, for Rotherham, particularly in their rolling mauls which they resorted to time and again to wear down the hosts.
West had highlighted the maul as the key to the game in training during the week but felt his players did not execute the game plan.
"We knew that was Bristol's strength but didn't counter it well enough," said the head coach. "And it proved decisive.
"We never got out of second gear and never really gave our supporters anything to jump up and down about. We never got going or maintained the ball long enough to have any impact.
"There were positives: the forwards were good, we competed well defensively and we were good in the scrum. We gave as good as we got in all those areas.
"We are not far away, we have just got to stay positive."
Rotherham fell behind on nine minutes after constant pressure from Bristol, hooker Dave Blaney the man who rumbled over.
Adrian Jarvis missed the conversion, and also failed to convert Bristol's two other scores.
Despite going behind early on Rotherham fought valiantly, Brad Hunt, Mike Whitehead, Jon Feeley and Gregor Hayter all making breaks into enemy territory.
On each occasion, however, they coughed up possession either with handling errors or in the lineout, which they lost three times in the first half.
Jon Skurr was sin-binned for stamping but they held on with 14 men until the stroke of half-time when, during a rare show of expansive rugby, Sam Giddens released Jack Adams to score.
West shuffled his pack in the second half, replacing his son Jonny with Matt Farmer, who went to full-back with Whitehead switched to No 10.
Rotherham had more invention with Whitehead at first receiver but could still not threaten the away line.
And from a blatant offside by Matt Kleeburger, Bristol's Dan Montagu won a lineout and from another powerful maul Blaney scored his second try.
Hunt sustained a deal leg for a try-saving tackle on Lee Robinson and Rotherham also lost Whitehead late on to an ankle injury that they hope will not sideline the captain for too long.
Afterwards, Maggs said: "We cannot fault the effort and the work rate, but we made a few mistakes and it cost us.
"There were opportunities for us out there but at times we came apart in the backs.
"We just didn't look after the ball as well as we'd have liked.
"There are positives to take though, take away their driving maul and there was not a lot in it. If we can cut out those errors we'll be okay."
Rotherham Titans: Whitehead, Feeley, Maggs (Buckley 73), Gidlow, Hunt (Allen 75), West (Farmer 52), Chivers; O'Donnell (Voisey 40), Conroy, Prescott (Jenkins 70), Barnes, Hayter, Skurr (Kleeberger 55), Du Plessis, Dickinson.
Bristol: Arscott, Robinson, Adams, Giddens, Watkins (Eaves 72), Jarvis (Ashwin 71), Spice (Shaw 65); Irish (Thompson 71), Blaney (Johnson 63), Crompton, Budgett (Sambucetti 71), Winters, Phillips (Pennycook 35), Grieve, Montagu.
Referee: R Debney (RFU).
Scorers
Bristol: tries Blaney 2, Adams.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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