Taunton Titans 36 Hornets 34

Taunton Titans edged a thrilling contest at Summerfield Stadium, holding off a spirited Hornets fightback to secure a hard-earned 36-34 victory in front of a crowd of more than 700 spectators.

On a lovely dry and sunny afternoon at Summerfield, Hornets kicked off and were immediately put under pressure by a determined Titans side.

Taunton drove forward through a combination of powerful forward carries, recycling the ball before unleashing the backs. The pressure took them to within touching distance of the line in the car park corner and, with the ball recycled once again, Andy England powered over for the opening try after just three minutes. Tom Putt added the conversion to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead.

The Titans continued to attack from the restart, but a combination of handling errors and penalties allowed Hornets to work their way towards the Taunton line.

Hornets looked to use their lineout to build pressure, but Alex Long was proving a constant nuisance, reading the opposition throws superbly and winning valuable possession for the Titans.

On nine minutes, however, Hornets secured their lineout ball and began to maul towards the Taunton line. As the Titans defence narrowed, Hornets fly-half Jamie Elswood spotted an opportunity and chipped cleverly into the corner, allowing Josh Shepherd to gather and score.

The conversion was missed, leaving Taunton with a narrow 7-5 advantage.

Despite conceding penalties, the Titans continued to control much of the play and again disrupted the Hornets lineout. Several promising attacks came close to producing a second try before, on 16 minutes, the versatile Ollie Schuster-Wood broke through the centre.

The powerful prop showed impressive pace to outstrip the covering defence and race in for Taunton's second try. Putt added the extras to restore the Titans' seven-point advantage.

Taunton were then dealt a blow when fullback Matt Whitlock was forced off with a back injury, with Freddie Elliott coming on in his place.

Elliott made an immediate impact. Racing forward from fullback, he helped create the opportunity for Alfie Johns to cross for Taunton's third try. Putt converted once again to put the Titans 21-5 ahead.

Hornets responded strongly in the closing stages of the first half, making two significant changes with Corey Baker entering the back row and former Titan Henry Webb returning to the field following injury.

A Taunton penalty gave Hornets an opportunity to attack from a lineout. Webb took full advantage, breaking through with power and pace before finding fullback Charlie Carter, who raced clear to score.

The conversion was successful, reducing the deficit.

Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Webb broke through the centre himself to score his second try of the afternoon. Carter converted, leaving Taunton with a slender 21-17 lead at the interval.

The Titans started the second half just as they had started the first — on the front foot.

With possession and territory secured, Taunton moved the ball through the backs and created the opportunity for Troy Jackson to cross for another try. Putt added the conversion to extend the lead to 28-17.

Taunton continued to press immediately after the restart, with only some exceptional Hornets defence preventing them from adding to their advantage.

Hornets then produced one of the moments of the afternoon. Scrum-half James Murray collected possession around halfway and raced clear, seemingly destined to score. However, Ollie Schuster-Wood showed remarkable pace for a front-row forward to chase Murray down and catch him just metres from the line, preventing what looked certain to be a try.

Despite that outstanding piece of defensive work, Taunton were unable to prevent the pressure from telling. Hornets secured their lineout and, from the resulting maul, Corey Baker powered over to score.

Almost immediately from the restart, Hornets conceded a penalty just inside their own half. Putt elected to take the points and calmly converted, extending the Titans' lead and making it 31-22.

Taunton then struck again.

Hornets attempted a long pass from the restart, but Ben Parsons read it brilliantly, intercepted the ball and raced away to score.

There was some confusion over the conversion, with one assistant referee raising their flag while the other did not. The referee ultimately ruled that the kick had not been successful, leaving the Titans 36-22 ahead.

Hornets, however, refused to go away.

The visitors entered a sustained period of pressure, retaining possession and forcing the Titans into a tense final quarter. With ten minutes remaining, James Murray crossed for his side's fifth try, giving Hornets renewed hope.

They continued to pile on the pressure and, with five minutes remaining, Corey Baker completed his hat-trick of tries. Carter added the conversion to bring Hornets to within just two points at 36-34.

The final minutes were tense for everyone inside Summerfield Stadium.

The Titans' defence stood firm, with Taunton doing everything they could to keep the game close to halfway and prevent Hornets from creating another clear opportunity.

When the final whistle eventually sounded, the Titans had held on for a thrilling 36-34 victory.

It was a hard-fought encounter in which Hornets actually crossed the line six times to Taunton's five, but the accuracy of Tom Putt from the tee ultimately proved crucial in securing the Titans' victory.

There were several outstanding individual performances. Alex Long dominated the lineout battle against Hornets' Nick Payne, with the pair having previously played together at Cardiff Met and for the Taunton Warriors.

Ollie Schuster-Wood was immense throughout, both at scrum time and around the field, while Troy Jackson, named Man of the Match, once again demonstrated his quality in both attack and defence.

The Titans now face another away challenge, making the long journey to Redruth next weekend.

And if you aren't making the trip to Redruth, why not head up the road to support the Taunton Warriors, who make the short journey to Bridgwater?

Bridgwater v Taunton Warriors
Kick-off: 2:30pm

A big weekend of rugby awaits.

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