Taunton Titans v Redruth

“Man of the Match” Tom Putt controlled the game not only with his kicking but with his decisions, ball distribution and mostly what many may not have been noticed his tackling in defence.  He was able to do this by the rest of the team dominating possession and territory.  Huge credit should go to the front three who not only controlled the scrums where they were immovable but also their defence around the ruck was outstanding.  This gave the rest of the team the ability to put phases together which contributed to that domination of possession and territory.

The first try came after only7-minutes into the game when Reece Malone came into the line to take an inside pass and glide through the narrowest gaps to use his strength and pace to score the try.  Tom Putt converted and the Titans had a seven-point lead.  They continued their dominance of possession putting together good phases of play which was strongly resisted by Redruth but in so doing conceding penalties.  Putt converted one such penalty on 23-minutes and extended the Titans lead to 10-points.  From the re-start Redruth were able to gain possession and this was the first time that they had any play within the Titans22metre area.  They were awarded a scrum and tried to outmuscle the Titans but the scrum held firm which was a credit to the Titans against a much larger and heavier Redruth outfit.  The Titans cleared their lines and were back in Redruth territory.  Redruth in defending conceded another penalty and Putt made the attempt at goal but the very strong wind took the ball just wide. Another penalty came and Putt kicked to the corner, Jo Elsworth won the ball in the lineout and the driving maul was on allowing Alex O’Brien to go in for the try.  With the conversion missed it left the Titans with a fifteen-point to nil lead at half time.

Redruth kicked off for the second half and the Titans continued with retaining possession and driving forward however on five-minutes they conceded the scrum and Redruth again tried to push through the Titans scrum which held firm and nudged back the Redruth pack which as a result conceded the penalty.  Putt kicked to the corner this time Alex Long won the ball and the drive was on for Alex Spurdle to score the try.  From out wide and into the wind the magic boot of Tom Putt kicked the conversion.  The fourth and bonus point try was just a bit of sheer magic when Dan Martin made the break down the blind side and passed onto Freddie Elliot who used his strength and pace to make the extra yards passing to Reece Malone in support who getting close to the line drew his man in order to pass to fellow Ulsterman Dan Martin who started the move for the score.  This brought tremendous cheers and applause from the crowd of 970 on the day. Try number five was created by Jo Elsworth who made the break and rolling out of the tackle passed on to “Toots” who accelerated up the Main Stand touchline with Oscar Kolowski outside of him.  The awareness of “Toots” giving Oscar a nod and a wink indicated for Oscar to cut behind and take the inside pass which allowed him to carry on in that channel completely wrong footing the covering defence and race from just inside the Redruth half to score the try which Putt converted.  There seemed no way back for Redruth but never write off the men from Cornwall.  The Titans had made four changes and whilst these players were settling in Redruth exploited the space and went in for two quick tries on 61 and 64 minutes.  Just6-minutes later and they added a third so with 10-minutes left could this be the great comeback.  Not so as In the middle of this tremendous effort by Redruth Tom Putt took control and slotted over another penalty.  The last try in the game came from Jo Elsworth for the Titans which took the score to over forty-points and with Tom’s conversion 44.

This showed a tremendous effort by the Titans who were up against a very strong Redruth side and showed the talent we have.  Most of you will not know the paperwork filled in before and after each game but on the RFU team sheets the final column for both sides may have the letter “Y” against the player, this indicates that they are registered to play front row.  In this team the Titans squad had 8 players with the letter “Y” against their name. 5 hookers and three props.  Dan Frost was one such player at Taunton and look where he has finished now and where he has been.  This must be encouragement for any young player.  It shows how the game has changed when one of those with a “Y” has played hooker, back row, centre and now second row, what an achievement to have those skills at this level.

The Titans now have a week off before travelling to Loughborough Students for their next game on the 8^thof November.  On the same day the Warriors are playing at home at Summerfield Stadium against Clifton.  This should be an exciting game and well worth you coming down to support the team.

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