London Welsh 32 Rotherham Titans 16: Unhappy return for coach Justin Burnell

Rotherham Titans' mini-revival was halted as Justin Burnell was unable to claim victory for his new club on his return to former team London Welsh.
Tom Calladine in action for Rotherham.Tom Calladine in action for Rotherham.
Tom Calladine in action for Rotherham.

Burnell succeeded fellow Welshman Mark Jones last month after a run of 10 straight defeats had left the Titans nervously looking over their shoulders at relegation.

But a resounding win in the British and Irish Cup, plus a much-needed victory over Bedford in his first two games in charge, had seen Rotherham turn their fortunes around.

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However, they were always playing catch-up at Welsh on Saturday, from the moment quick-fire tries from Koree Britton and Guy Armitage helped the home side establish a 15-3 lead.

Josh McNally stretched the lead further after the interval before Rotherham finally breached the try line, a catch-and-drive resulting in Tom Calladine dotting down.

Ross Jones kicked his second and third penalties of the match as suddenly the Titans pulled to within a score at 22-16.

But after missing a two-on-one opportunity, Rotherham were punished when Chris Elder ran in for Welsh’s fourth try, with fly-half Olly Barkley taking his tally of kicking points to 12.

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Burnell said: “We came here not to make up the numbers but to get a result, but we gifted them their tries off our turnovers. At crucial moments we handed the ball over to them.”

London Welsh: Elder, Reynolds, Armitage, Jewell, Drauniniu, Barkley, Glynn, Aholelei, Britton, Cooper, McNally, Corker, Liston, Hodson, Thorpe. Replacements: Allen, Trevett, Gilding, West, Murphy, R. Lewis, Carlisle.

Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Keating, L. Hayes, Owen, Broadley, Goodwin, Carter, Hislop, C. Maddison, Tampin, Holmes, Salmon, B. Maddison, Calladine, Argyle. Replacements: Harris, Williams, Thiede, Birch, Preece, A. Davies, Jones.

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