MATCH REPORT: TITANS DOWN SAXONS FOR RICHMOND DOUBLE

RAMS Titans got back to winning ways with a convincing 43-14 Raging Bull Shield Division One victory at Richmond Saxons (3rd XV).

The visitors were dominant from the off and took the lead when a nice move sent Finn Matthews over on the left, captain Tom Humberstone – skippering the side on the same day his brother Drew did the first XV at the same venue – unable to add the conversion from out wide.

However, it did not take long for Titans to move further in front, some individual brilliance from full back Zach Clow showcasing his footballing skills as he fly-hacked a loose ball forward from inside his own 22 before collecting it to cross the whitewash.

Things got even better for the away side as debutant Reading University man Will Poppy crossed from close range, Humberstone drop-kicking the extras from in front of the posts for 17-0.

The bonus-point was wrapped up before the half-hour mark as Ollie Cole took a quick tap penalty before releasing Elio Mandozzi to power over from close range, a fifth try of the opening period scored by Cole as he hoovered up a loose ball in midfield before running in from 40 metres out.

Saxons, though, rallied towards the end of the opening 40 minutes, and following a sustained period of possession on their opponents’ line forced a penalty which saw Vince Everitt sin-binned.

Titans repelled a couple more attacks to ensure they were in control at half-time, but Richmond got on the board after the break as Will Jenkins broke through in midfield to touch down.

Gabriel Antwi landed the conversion, and with the Titans’ penalty count rising, Saxons grabbed another close-range score which with the extras added reduced the deficit to 29-14.

However, the visitors regained their composure and effectively put the game to bed as the returning Terrel Harry showed handling skills somewhat unbecoming of a traditional prop, his sumptuous flick out of the back of his hands allowing Alex Sparkes to touch down under the posts.

There was no mistake from Humberstone, and his side completed a strong performance when Karl Quartey’s powerful charge set-up field position for Everitt to grab the final try of the afternoon.

Humberstone rounded out the scoring to take Titans to a 6-3 record ahead of their final pre-Christmas contest at home to Chinnor Falcons on Saturday.