National 2 South
Redruth 38, Taunton Titans 22

TAUNTON Titans' bright opening to 2018 was thrown off course by a 38-22 defeat away to Redruth, who had been hurting after losing their previous two matches, writes Keith Brooking.

The Titans headed south for a change, to take on their Cornish rivals at the famous Rec with Hell Fire Corner.

On a wet and greasy day, with heavy going under foot, it was testament to both teams that they still tried to play rugby in tough conditions.

The opening exchanges were quite heated with the visiting scrum-half, and Cornishman, Lewis Webb coming in for some attention from the home pack and the passionate crowd, as the Titans played towards Hell Fire Corner in the first half.

It was the away side who scored first, as winger Jack Claydon was given some space and he capitalised to race away and score on 11 minutes.

Full-back Gary Kingdom converted to give his side a 7-0 lead.

But, as was the story of the game and the story of Taunton’s season, they were once again their own worst enemy, knocking on from the kick-off.

A scrum out wide was passed out and the visitors conceded a penalty, which Redruth kicked to the corner, and from the lineout the home pack powered forward, with captain Rich Brown at the bottom to claim the score and close the gap to 7-5.

Again both teams tried to get a foothold on the game, with the Titans managing to go through the phases.

Redruth were reduced to 14 men after Pale Nonu's high tackle, and Kingdom kicked a penalty before converting hooker Dan Frost’s try a couple minutes later.

With the conversion out wide being successful, the away side had a deserved 17-5 lead with just eight minutes to go of the first half.

The Titans worked their way up the field, but with the ball in the Redruth 22 and the home side under pressure, the visitors once again shot themselves in the foot, as a loopy pass was easily read by winger Rob Coote, who raced nearly the length of the pitch to score.

The conversion was missed but the try gave the home team a lifeline, making the score 17-10 at half time.

The visitors started the second period best, and from a penalty they kicked to the corner.

From the lineout the Titans pack rumbled forward and back rower Ben Oliphant-Thompson emerged from the pile of bodies to claim the try on 43 minutes.

Kingdom’s kick into the wind missed, and this was the last chance Taunton had to trouble the scoreboard, as they made silly mistakes, playing the game in the wrong areas of the field and allowing the home pack to gain the upper hand.

With the away side playing like they were losing by 12, not leading by 12, they gave possession away too easily, and Redruth capitalised following Taunton winger Ollie Rice's yellow card, after the team had given away too many penalties.

It was fitting that the hosts' fightback was led by number 8 Kyle Marriott – on his 100th Redruth appearance – as he scored under the posts in the 50th minute and fly-half Rich Kevern converted to make the score 22-17.

The Titans still had the lead but, again, gave field position away from poor discipline, as – having had a lineout just outside the Redruth 22 – they were taken back to their own 22, and the home side gained a penalty for blocking.

They kicked to the corner, and although the Titans pack held the initial drive, with Redruth now in full control it wasn’t long until full-back AJ Cant scored their bonus-point try on 62 minutes, with Kevern converting to give them the lead for the first time in the game.

With the home pack on the front foot and pushing their opponents around, it wasn’t a surprise that Marriott claimed his second from a pushover try just four minutes later.

Kevern converted the simple kick and did so again on the stroke of full time, after Mark Grubb drove through close to the posts with Kingdom in the sin bin, to give Redruth a well-deserved win and the Titans a harsh lesson on how to control the game.

The Taunton side will look to bounce back from this defeat in next Saturday's match, which is away to mid-table side Worthing (ko 2pm).

Redruth: Cant, Coote, Parsons, Nonu (Bonds 74), Bonds (Higgins 68), Kevern, Oulton, Tompsett (Kivalu 60), Brown (c), Williams (Hodge 77), Pascoe, Prisk (Fox 58), Fuca (Howe 68), Grubb, Marriott.

Taunton Titans: Kingdom, Rice, Mason (c), Fraser, Claydon, East (Banks 70), Webb, Baker, Frost, Dalton, Harvey, Persey (Lugg 68), Vakalutukali (Francis 68), Fleming, Prior (Oliphant-Thompson 21-62).

Referee: Mr Nicholas Wood.