Plymouth Albion 21 Rotherham Titans 10: Titans leave comeback too late

Albion offered little in the second half and were scoreless, and if the Titans had played with the same vigour and purpose beforehand, they would not have left with nothing.

Rotherham's third defeat in seven league games can be attributed to bad defence in the opening 25 minutes.

Tongan centre Sione Tuipiulotu, so dangerous on the burst, was given acres of space in Plymouth's initial attack. The Titans' tackling was non-existent and Tuipiulotu's pass to Irish winger Fionn McLoughlin resulted in the first of two tries.

Faults were repeated because the same combination created more embarrassment in Rotherham's midfield defence.

The rampaging Tongan once again smashed his way through, and with McLoughlin in support on the outside, Albion's winger took his opportunity.

Two conversions by accomplished fly-half Alex Davies, stretched Plymouth's lead to 14-0. The frustration of Rotherham's players could be seen because their forwards had controlled most of the possession and territory.

The only reward came mid-way through the first half. Rotherham's Argentinian centre Juan Socino put over a penalty, reducing Plymouth's lead to 14-3 but their position deteriorated further following a yellow card against No 8 Adam Kettle.

From a penalty near Rotherham's line, Plymouth's forwards drove for No 8 Sam Hocking to score. With Davies converting, Plymouth, leading 21-3, were well on the way to earning their second Championship win.

Titans improved considerably after the break. Replacements in the pack, Alex Loney, Anton O'Donnell, Sean Dougall and new prop John Aikman, from Sheffield Hallam University and Pocklington, carried the ball aggressively, enabling Rotherham to dominate territory to the extent that Albion were prevented from leaving their own half.

At two different periods, Plymouth were down to 14 men because of yellow cards against two influential forwards, but Rotherham could score only one try, appropriately by Kettle, making up for his enforced absence.

Kettle's score, converted by Socino on 54 minutes, cut Plymouth's advantage to 21-10, and with the momentum in Rotherham's favour, they had plenty of time remaining.

However, the attacking efforts of the pack, notably by Loney, Dougall and Kettle, who came close to scoring a second try but knocked on, were repeatedly repelled by solid defence.

The Titans had more than sufficient ball to break through, but lacked penetration, which is why coach Andre Bester is keen to strengthen the squad by recruiting four new players.

Plymouth has always been a hard place to conquer as Championship leaders Worcester found last month when Albion lost by only 26-19 at Brickfields, so Rotherham's defeat is perhaps unsurprising.

"It was a calamitous first half. You come down to a place like this, play with the wind and you then give them 20 points, so you are asking for trouble," said Rotherham try-scorer Kettle.

"But in the second half there was only one team in it. We put some good rugby together. However, Plymouth's defence in the second half was better than ours in the first. That was the difference."

Rotherham face another long journey this weekend, this time to Cornish Pirates, but the back line will be reinforced by the return from injury of Jonny Hepworth and Richard Welding.

Plymouth Albion: Hallett, McLoughlin, Johns, Tuipiulotu, Coleman, Davies, Cushion, Porter, O'Meara, Hopkins, Copeland, Hotson, Stephen, Watts-Jones, Hocking.

Rotherham Titans: Swatkins, Hampsey, Socino, Hodgson, Stimpson (Hunt 25), West (Rhodes 65), Bedford, Steenkamp (Aikman 67), McGregor (Loney 40), Quigley (O'Donnell 25), Harris, Dickinson, Burrows, Baines (Dougall 25), Kettle.

Referee: K Lewis.