Leeds Tykes Vs Taunton Titans

The launch of NASA’s unmanned space rocket may have been further delayed at the weekend but Taunton Titans are nicely up and away in National One. For the second successive year they kicked off their league campaign with a bonus-point victory away from home, a highly satisfying result ahead of this Saturday’s local ‘derby’ against Plymouth Albion at Veritas Park.

It proved to be a tense, hard-earned win over Leeds at the Sycamores, with the Titans reduced to 13 men after just seven minutes and then falling behind 14-0 early in the second quarter. Displaying plenty of character and resilience, however, Taunton dragged themselves back into the game and were rewarded when replacement Connor Baker was driven over for the winning try just a couple of minutes before the final whistle.

A happy ending had not looked particularly likely when Freddie Fraser and Ratu ‘Toots’ Vakalutukali were both sin-binned early on as the referee attempted to lay down the law in terms of tackle height. Nor did it help when, with Taunton seriously depleted, the Leeds hooker Adam Brown finished off a nice move by scoring under the posts.

Leeds’ second try also had a hint of generosity about it after a Titans line-out went astray in their hosts’ 22 and the home side swept 75metres upfield to score at the other end. The Titans badly needed a response and it duly arrived when a strong rolling maul splintered the Tykes pack and a penalty try was awarded.

Taunton were now finding some rhythm on a dry, warm afternoon and Joe Blackburn, one of a clutch of backline newcomers, almost scored in the right corner. It did not greatly matter, with Charlie Wright bursting over to level up the scores at 14-14. A Leeds penalty attempt before the interval hit an an upright and it was Taunton who looked the sharper in the early stages of the second half, another dominant rolling maul ending with Brett Harvey putting Taunton ahead for the first time in the game.

By the time the contest entered its final quarter, though, Leeds were back level courtesy of a converted try by Tom Williams and a 64th-minutepenalty from their centre Charlie Venables put them back in front. It was a question of which side could best keep their composure and it was Leeds whose discipline increasingly began to fray.

Taunton took advantage of the rising penalty account to mount a concerted late surge, opting to kick for the corner rather than attempt a penalty kick at goal which might have levelled the scores at 24-24. They were rewarded when the Leeds winger Jacob Mounsey was binned for a deliberate knock on, heaping more pressure on the home side. By now Taunton could scent blood and another slickly-executed driven line-out saw Baker complete the crucial bonus point score.

Fly-half Jordan Gott, immaculate off the tee all day, slotted a fine touchline conversion and there was to be no way back for the Tykes, coached by the former Bath and England full-back Jon Callard. The Taunton forwards, not least Toots, Wright and Harvey, were consistently influential but it was the collective team ethos, defensive commitment and refusal to lie down that ultimately bore fruit. Early days but the players and coaches will be rightly encouraged by this admirable effort against well-organised opponents who look stronger than a year ago when Taunton won 29-41 in Yorkshire in their debut fixture in National One.

A perfect launchpad, then, for a Plymouth fixture which offers a great opportunity for rugby fans across Somerset and Devon to come along and watch a potentially excellent game between two motivated local rivals. In other big news the main road to Veritas Park has now reopened; on and off the field there are  reasons to be cheerful. A fast start to the season is also now becoming a Taunton speciality; rumour has it that Tony Yapp and Chris Brown are both available for consultation if NASA’s top scientists need them.

Leeds Tykes: Davies; Bai, Venables, Williams, Mounsey; Maxwell-Whiteley, Hardwick; Pleasants, Brown,  Dennis,Okafor, Brady, Collins (capt), Smith, Burke.

Replacements: Sugars, Adamakin, Maguire, Davidson, Dixon.

Tries: Brown, Venables, Williams. Cons: Venables 3. Pen: Venables.

Taunton Titans: Dart; Blackburn, Fraser, Kennaugh, Kitson; Gott, Banks; Vaughan, Gosling, Dalton, Harvey, Knott, Vakalutukali, Wright, Prior.

Replacements: Spurdle, Baker, England, Walker-Blair, Toogood.

Tries: Penalty try, Wright, Harvey, Baker. Cons: Gott 3.

Referee: Andrew Wigley. Att: 256.

ENDS 

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