Titans make it two derby wins in a row

Taunton Titans made it two wins in a row with two tough derby wins. Playing a league fixture for the first time at Dings Crusaders new ground, which is a great ground with some great facilities and well thought out, the Titans were treated to a great 4G playing surface but the wind blowing down and a cross the pitch made it a definite game of two halves.

Taunton won the all important toss and chose to play into the wind in the first half. With a strong wind against them it was important the Titans kept their discipline and not allow themselves to be pinned back in their own half. There was cause for concern when after 3 minutes Dings fly half Steven Plummer kicked a penalty however Taunton soon got the ball in their hands and started to go through the phases. The next 20 minutes were quite even with some strong Titans defence keeping the hosts out and as the Titans moved towards the Dings 22 meter line Gary Kingdom spotted an unmarked player and sent the pass out to him but it was picked off by winger Harry Tovey who had the pace to beat the chasing defenders. The conversion was kicked by Plummer to give Dings a 10 point lead.

With the first half nearly over Taunton launched one last attack. Instead of kicking to touch in a strong wind Gary Kingdom took a quick tap and fed it out for centre Sam Brown make a break to the Dings 5 meter line. A few forwards drive to edge that bit closer allowed Sam Prior to force his way over for the try. With a conversion on the 5 meter line Kingdom judged the wind to perfection and meant the Titans only went into the break 3 point behind.

With the wind now in their favour Taunton pinned the home side back in their half and they struggled to clear their lines. From a line out on the Dings 22 meter line the ball was secured and a clever little chip by Lewis Webb was collected by Nick Mason in full flight and he dotted down with his first touch of the game. Kingdom kicked the easier conversion before the Titans were awarded a Penalty Try. A great turnover by Freddie Fraser allowed Taunton to regain the ball on the half way line. After a couple of forward punches, winger Ollie Rice hit a great line to make the break who drew the last defender and off loaded to fellow flyer Aron Struminski who was taken high from a covering defender 2 meters short, which gave the referee no option but to go under the posts.

From the kick off and with a man advantage after a yellow card for the offender tackler from Dings Taunton went straight back at the home side. A great break by Jacob Nash and Ratu Vakalutukali created some space and Webb, who had an advantage lofted the ball over the defence and luckily the long arms of Cory Teague managed to pluck the ball from the air for the second row to run in from 15 meters out.

With a couple of minutes to go a missed kicked to touch from the home side once again allowed Taunton to attack and after Jarrad Hayler managed to break the defensive line a great off load to the supporting Jacob Nash allowed him to run in under the posts unopposed. A conversion by Sam Brown finished the game and allow Taunton to head back down the M5 with all 5 points.