Rotherham Titans 59 Connacht Eagles 3: Change of attitude leaves Titans on course for Cup

They are second in the Championship and, on current form, the Titans should qualify for the promotion play-offs by finishing in the top four.

Now, for the first time, they have reached the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup.

With one game in Pool 3 remaining at Bedford on Saturday, Rotherham will be confident of adding to their success of four wins from five games.

Now in its fifth year, the British and Irish Cup has not until Lee Blackett’s appointment as Rotherham’s coach last Spring been taken seriously by the Clifton Lane club.

This season, though, the attitude of the coach and the approach of the players are entirely different and it shows.

With victories against Bedford, Llanelli and this destruction of Connacht by nine tries to nil, Rotherham are not simply making up the numbers but are chasing a trophy with an intent and purpose not seen at the club for a decade.

Their place in the quarter-finals was assured by Connacht’s crushing and Llanelli’s substantial win against Bedford, who have been beaten by Rotherham twice so far this season in the Championship and B & I Cup.

The Irish fielded a strong side at Clifton Lane; four had played in the Heineken Cup, including scrum-half Frank Murphy, who had appeared for Leicester Tigers in both finals of the Premiership and the major European cup competition in 2007.

Several Connacht players had also represented the province in the RaboDirect Pro 12 League and played for Ireland at several levels, so Rotherham looked as though they would be confronting a decent team.

The Titans responded to the challenge stylishly and aggressively. Making full use of abundant possession and led by the force of flanker Laurence Pearce, the Irish were demolished and, in little more than 30 minutes, Rotherham led 33-3.

Four of their six first-half tries were produced by the backs whose pace and willingness to attack from deep ruined Connacht’s defence. The scores by wingers Curtis Wilson and James Broadley and from centre Lloyd Hayes were top class and with the pack controlling ball and supplying it quickly, Rotherham’s half-time lead of 40-3 reflected accurately their superiority, which, nevertheless, was surprising.

Connacht offered credible resolve for the opening 20 minutes of the second half, but in this period the excitement never reached the heights of the first half.

The Irish continued to concede penalties and frequent handling errors prevented them exploiting the few favourable positions created close to Rotherham’s line.

The Titans’ defence remained solid throughout and once they switched back to attack mode in the last 10 minutes, the backs reproduced similar havoc.

Scores on 70, 73 and 79 minutes by centre Jack Roberts, full-back Sean Scanlon and replacement winger Ben Rath gave a glimpse of the quarter-finals which turned into fact once the result arrived from Llanelli.

The manner in which Roberts scored his try exemplified the progress the 22-year-old centre – who joined from the Welsh Premiership club Llandovery – has made during his first season.

“It wasn’t a difficult decision to make to come here once I had met the directors and the coach,” explained Roberts, who has scored tries in successive games.

“The style of play suits my game. We throw the ball around as much as we can.

“We scored really good tries against Connacht and the backs and the forwards played well together. The Championship is a step up for me. Everyone is virtually professional and I’ve learned a lot playing at a higher standard.

“Lee Blackett has helped me to work on my communications during play and that aspect has improved.”

Interestingly, the last training session and preparations before kick-off were taken by forwards’ coach Ed Williamson in order to develop his coaching skills.

He benefited from the experience as did the captain for the Connacht game, second-row forward Dan Sanderson, in his second season at Rotherham.

“It was great as a line-out man because every time you looked, we were 50 yards down the pitch.

“We are not saying we are going to win the B & I Cup but you stand a chance having got to the quarter-finals. Only a handful of players I know have got a winners’ medal, so we are taking this seriously.

“Until you have played at Clifton Lane, you can’t understand how good the fans are. You thrive on the atmosphere and we use the support to our advantage.”

Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Broadley (Socino 60), Hayes, Roberts, Wilson (Rath 40), Murphy, White, Williams (Dias 49), Sowrey (Cruse 40), Tampin (Stout 49), Thomas (Preece 60), Sanderson, Pearce, Birch, To’oala (Rieder 49).

Connacht Eagles: O’Halloran, Layden, Finn, B Murphy, Panter (MacCauley 60), Leader (Parata 60), F Murphy (Walsh 60), Loughney (Riley 60), Hefferman, Cooney (Bealham 51), O’Brien (McCloskey 51), Qualter, Fifita (Rael 38), Moloney, Masterson.

Referee: C Evans (Wales).