London Welsh 32 Rotherham Titans 16: Unhappy return for coach Justin Burnell
Burnell succeeded fellow Welshman Mark Jones last month after a run of 10 straight defeats had left the Titans nervously looking over their shoulders at relegation.
But a resounding win in the British and Irish Cup, plus a much-needed victory over Bedford in his first two games in charge, had seen Rotherham turn their fortunes around.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHowever, they were always playing catch-up at Welsh on Saturday, from the moment quick-fire tries from Koree Britton and Guy Armitage helped the home side establish a 15-3 lead.
Josh McNally stretched the lead further after the interval before Rotherham finally breached the try line, a catch-and-drive resulting in Tom Calladine dotting down.
Ross Jones kicked his second and third penalties of the match as suddenly the Titans pulled to within a score at 22-16.
But after missing a two-on-one opportunity, Rotherham were punished when Chris Elder ran in for Welsh’s fourth try, with fly-half Olly Barkley taking his tally of kicking points to 12.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBurnell said: “We came here not to make up the numbers but to get a result, but we gifted them their tries off our turnovers. At crucial moments we handed the ball over to them.”
London Welsh: Elder, Reynolds, Armitage, Jewell, Drauniniu, Barkley, Glynn, Aholelei, Britton, Cooper, McNally, Corker, Liston, Hodson, Thorpe. Replacements: Allen, Trevett, Gilding, West, Murphy, R. Lewis, Carlisle.
Rotherham Titans: Scanlon, Keating, L. Hayes, Owen, Broadley, Goodwin, Carter, Hislop, C. Maddison, Tampin, Holmes, Salmon, B. Maddison, Calladine, Argyle. Replacements: Harris, Williams, Thiede, Birch, Preece, A. Davies, Jones.