National League One: Taunton Titans 31 Exeter University 23

A crowd of 1,260 stood before the start of the game to give a one-minute round of applause to Roger Neale not only in respect of his passing but also in recognition of his life and his contribution as a volunteer at Taunton Rugby Club, writes Mike Amos.

Exeter University kicked off and the Titans unusually did not field clean ball which resulted in Exeter gaining possession and the advantage.

So, they denied the Titans any possession for the first seven minutes with the Titans also conceding penalties.

From the first scrum where the Titans had the put in, they were able to show their power but kicked possession away for Exeter to keep possession for another five minutes.

The Titans did show their strength in defence with some outstanding tackling keeping the University out from some very good moves.

The fifth penalty conceded by the Titans the University opted to convert and take a three-point lead.  This lead lasted just three minutes when the Titans kicked to the corner, won the lineout and hooker Vaea Taione went in for the Titans first try which Louie Sinclair converted to give the Titans the lead.

The Titans were gaining more possession and the ability of the centre pairing of Nick Mason and Andrew Humberstone was making headway into the University defence but there always seemed to be that extra line keeping the Titans at bay.

Sadly, for the Titans there was no extra line of defence when the back three were committed to a Titans attack and a loose  pass went to ground for the University wing Isaiah Akpovwa to collect the ball and race away for the try.  Shortland converted for the University and they were back in the lead.

That lead was extended by Shortland when the Titans gave away their seventh penalty of the half and he converted.

The Titans showed their power in the scrums and in the lineout pushing the students back in the scrums and winning lineout ball and so it came as no surprise when from a maul Isaac Dalton went in for the try which Louie converted and gave the Titans a single point lead.

With the Titans using their forward power and keeping possession, it was the University who started to concede penalties and with just a minute of the half left the Titans kicked to touch, won the lineout and mauled to the line for Charlie Wright to score the try which Louie converted and give the Titans a 21 point to 13 halftime lead.

The Titans kicked off for the second half and the University fielded the ball and went through several phases of attack retaining possession.  The Titans defended well but a dangerous tackle resulted in a Titans yellow card which the University exploited to score the try which was converted and brought them within one point of the Titans.

The Titans fourteen weathered the storm and started to use the power of their pack and the University were conceding penalties. The Titans dominated the lineouts from these penalties and the University continued to offend so on 62 minutes it was not a surprise when continuous penalties resulted in a penalty try and a University yellow card.

With just three minutes of the game left and the University having little possession the Titans conceded a penalty which the University converted to give them a 5-point deficit and a losing bonus point.  But with a minute of the game left Louie Sinclair reciprocated when the University conceded penalty.  The game ended with the Titans getting a hard-fought win and the five league points.

The players demonstrated some exceptional skills to keep at bay this University side who were full of running and never gave up.  They were frequently kept out by the enormous effort of “man of the match” Joe Elsworth.

He seemed to stop everything that posed a threat as well as being in support at all of the breakdowns.  We also welcomed Nick Payne for his first game having been a regular in the Warriors all season.

The Titans now have a free week before travelling just up the road to Bristol to take on Old Reds.  At Home next week is the Warriors who entertain our near neighbours Bridgwater. Bridgwater have been doing particularly well lately with some good wins so it should be a good match as well as a good day out meeting many of our friends and rivals who follow Bridgwater.