Secret weapon Copeland is sure to attract Premiership interest

For any Premiership spies interested in the performance of Robin Copeland, Rotherham would want them to believe he had a shocker.

He had no impact in the scrum, in snaffling loose balls or in running in the kind of tries that are becoming the minimum expectation of his performances at Clifton Lane.

Only he did. The 23-year-old flanker, not-long removed from the Leinster academy and plucked from relative obscurity at Plymouth proved the difference in a scrappy South Yorkshire derby.

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The problem for Rotherham Titans is the faster he develops and spearheads their promotion challenge, the quicker he will be whisked away by a Premiership club.

Twice in the space of three first-half minutes, he picked up a loose ball inside his own half and charged remorselessly to the try line.

For the long-term perspective, it was hard not to think he was running towards a Premiership contract and a promising future.

Of more short-term concern, his scores on 23 and 26 minutes were enough to secure victory for Rotherham.

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The affable Irishman is content with that for now, while coach Andre Bester – a seasoned unearther of rough diamonds – thinks there is more ‘balancing out’ of Copeland’s game to be done.

The South African also points to the work of the rest of his players in creating the opportunity, particularly scrum-half James Williams, who was quick to react both times to errors by Doncaster.

Weakened by Tom Luke’s sin-binning for hands in the ruck, the Knights could have done without David McIlwaine’s poor kick to set up the first, and the slow reaction of the defence to create the second.

There was still much work to do, but Copeland, who seems destined for the top, does not need opportunities gift-wrapped.

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His intervention was decisive. It gave Rotherham a 17-0 lead at half-time that they managed to hold onto in the second half, with Garry Law scoring two penalties and a drop goal.

It was by no means emphatic, but it was comfortable from a team that face a stiffer test of their credentials at Leeds on Friday.

Doncaster were the better side in the second half, with Luke atoning for his mistake with a try, a penalty and a conversion.

Rotherham were drawn into an attritional battle and looked surprisingly sluggish, while Brett Davey’s Knights were neat and tidy in possession and deserving of at least a losing bonus point for their effort. Both sides can be proud of how they defended their line for large parts of the game.

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This, though, was only the Titans’ fourth win over their neighbours in 13 league attempts.

Doncaster also have a healthy lead in cup and play-off games. The Knights have finished above Rotherham in each of the last four seasons, but the balance of power in the south of the ‘Shire has shifted.

And it was a measure of how significant that shift is that Bester was disappointed with his side’s performance, while Davey took a modicum of pride from defeat, having seen his part-timers outlast the full-timers in the final quarter of the game.

“I couldn’t fault the players’ attitude second half, I thought we were excellent,” said Davey.

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“The players still tried to build a score, we started to move the ball, hitting the right areas and kept them off balance. We came close on a number of occasions.

“The sin-bining was crucial, but it’s how you deal with those situations and two slight errors led to us conceding 14 points.

“But they were great scores by the No 6 and let’s not take anything away from him or Rotherham.”

Bester countered: “I’m very satisfied. They never looked like winning the match. But we couldn’t get quickball at any time.

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“It was frustrating. But it’s a win and we’ll take that and move on to Leeds. We move onto 36 points and that’s just 14 away from our target of 50.”

Rotherham have no need to be so cautious; a place in the top four should now be the minimum expectation.

Doncaster, on the other hand, have just one win in five in the league, and though they look relatively safe in the top eight, their slender squad is beginning to get stretched. Luke held his hands up for the sin-binning that cost them, but in his defence he is a centre standing in at stand-off.

First-choice No 10 Mike Whitehead is a month away from a return after a hand injury, which has prompted Davey to ring round the Premiership looking for cover. He has yet to receive a response but will begin the week with a call to Leicester Tigers enquiring about loaning a budding Premiership player.

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The attendance of 2,467 at Clifton Lane was the highest of the season.

Rotherham Titans: Foden, Tellwright, McCall (Hamilton 79), Nonu, Monahan, Law, Williams; Cahill (Kilbane 66), Stagg (Baines 50), Hooper (O’Donnell 66), Dickinson (Maddison 71), Griffiths, Copeland, Dougall, Taulava. Unused replacements: Rhodes, Hodgson.

Doncaster Knights: McIlwaine (Burdon 51), Flockhart, Goss, Pidlow, Keating, Luke, Hallam; Corsar (Davies 51), Boden (Yeandle 66), Brown, Challinor, Kenworthy (Parsons 51), Makaafi, Farivarz (Noone 32), Boyde (Planchant 51). Unused replacement: Audis.

Referee: D Richards (RFU).

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