London Welsh 47 Rotherham Titans 16: Positive response required as Titans are picked apart

Titans’ coach Lee Blackett was right to say his side were underdogs before the kick off, but he would never have imagined suffering a defeat by such a large margin.

Rotherham remain in the top four, however, and if they can recapture the form which has turned them into such a promising team with hopes of reaching the promotion play-offs, they will achieve the season’s goal.

However, the Titans will not fulfil their ambitions if there is any repeat of the weak defence and a lack of response to opponents’ quick thinking which characterised this poor performance in such an important game.

Rotherham, who let in four tries in the first half and then another three in the second – on 43, 49 and 64 minutes – seldom produced the skill, power and flair which have been delivered in the previous 14 Championship contests.

So on that basis, this heavy defeat is not typical of Rotherham’s season or indeed their potential which may still take them into the promotion play-offs.

Rotherham started weakly which raised serious questions about their defence as they conceded two converted tries during the opening eight minutes.

The Titans’ pack struggled to cope with the pressure of their Welsh opponents who scored first through prop Nathan Trevett who found space from a line-out and then, five minutes later, No 8 Richard Thorpe charged through to add the second.

So after less than 10 minutes, Rotherham were struggling and losing 14-0, although London Welsh were then punished twice in succession by the Championship’s leading points scorer, centre Juan Pablo Socino.

His penalties on 10 and 14 minutes not only put Rotherham back in the game but, importantly, restored their self confidence after such a poor start.

Rotherham’s new vigour was typified by strong breaks from forward Ben Thomas and then from scrum-half Dan White, who both attacked Welsh territory promisingly.

Just when it appeared that Rotherham were playing with their customary authority, they lost control once more and let in a third try on 22 minutes and again it was the pace of a London Welsh forward which wrecked their defence.

Outnumbered in their 22, it was inevitable that prop James Tideswell would run through and touch down for a simple try putting the Welsh comfortably in front by 19-6.

Thankfully from Rotherham’s point of view, they were able to take advantage of Welsh errors within kicking distance of the posts.

Socino’s accuracy cut the gap to 19-9 but with Rotherham struggling to gain possession, London Welsh’s dominance sooner or later would result in a fourth try.

Moving the ball quickly, Welsh created an opportunity for winger Seb Stegmann whose try after little more than half an hour claimed the bonus point and with fly-half Will Robinson adding his third conversion, Rotherham were 26-9 behind.

Just before the interval – which came as something of a relief to Rotherham – Socino had another opportunity to reduce the arrears, but on this occasion, the Argentinian’s penalty kick flew wide.

After being outfought by a dominant London Welsh pack, Rotherham did create some scoring opportunities in the second.

Attacking raids by replacement scrum-half, Charlie Mulchrone, Socino and fly-half Dallan Murphy showed an improvement, but despite their efforts and the force of forwards Alex Rieder and Tom Cruse, Rotherham were prevented from breaking through until late in the second period.

Rotherham deserved to score on 78 minutes by replacement prop Marshall Gadd, who completed a move following sustained but rare pressure on the London Welsh line.

The return of Gadd, a forward of genuine substance, is a welcome boost to Blackett as is the come-back of fly-half Garry Law, both of whom will be in contention forplaces in the next league game at Clifton Lane on Saturday against London Scottish.

After this setback, this game is now of some significance as Blackett admitted afterwards.

“London Scottish is a monster match for us,” said Blackett. “We are bitterly disappointed to lose to London Welsh. We had a bad day at the office.

“ I thought they were outstanding and at times it was men against boys. We lost the physical battle and it was a reality check.

“Others have got carried away by our success but we have not.

“In fact, we have not beaten any of the top sides.

“We have kept our feet on the ground and will continue to do so.”

If Rotherham are to recover against London Scottish, the defence, which until yesterday had been a strong aspect of their game, will need to regain its strength, organisation and ability to react to threats as sides approach the Titans’ 22.

London Welsh: Jewell, Stegmann, May, Parker, Awock, Robinson, Lewis (Davies 60), Trevett (Hepburn 49), Vella, Tideswell (Griffiths 68), West (Nimmo 70), Browne, Lees, Kirwan (Pienaar 65), Thorpe.

Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Broadley, Roberts, Socino, Keating, Murphy (Law 66), White (Mulchrone 40),Hislop, Sowrey (Cruse 44), Quigley (Tampin 60), Thomas (Gadd 62), Sanderson (Thomas-Brown 50), Rieder, Birch, To’oala(Williamson 40).

Referee: S Lee (RFU).