by Dick Macey

THE scene was set – the sun shone from a near-perfect blue sky, there was a crisp north east wind gave a stark reminder of winter just around the corner and the pitch looked in perfect condition with a great covering of grass.

The only question (unanswered at that stage) was what was the state of mind of the Titans?

Had they recovered from the setbacks of the previous two to three weeks?
Had the coaches been able to lift despondent chins and bring the team to a positive frame of mind?

The first five minutes after kick-off left those questions unanswered and even posed one or two more as the visitors, Worthing Raiders, snatched a 5-0 lead with a try in the corner after some sketchy cover tackling let their winger through.

Those early minutes showed Titans what they might be up against if they were less than focused, with Worthing thrusting through the middle and some strong forward play taking them into Titans’ territory.

The Titans then began to assert themselves; they began to denied the Raiders territory and, despite not getting a score on the board, a passage of play which took them across and back the visitors’ line showed at last that the home side were in business.

Finally, the Titans found their way through the obdurate Worthing defence and began to find space to move the ball to their wingers... and therein lay the answer. The moment they realised they had the ammunition out wide the game was in their hands.

Aaron Struminski became a pain in the Raiders’ side as he roamed and sniped, coming in the line wherever he fancied, and Worthing had no answer – he was acclaimed man of the match and took three tries for himself.

Lewis Pratten came off the bench for his home debut to display his credentials and, suddenly, The Titans were back among the big men: they showed they had wingers who not only knew what they had to do but knew how to do it.

The quiet man in this revolution was out-half Lewis Webb who, with his half-breaks and deft passing, created the space for which the wing men had been yearning.

The net result was a 59-19 Titans win, claiming victory 59-19 and restoring confidence in their abilities in abundance.

Next week Titans visit league newcomers Barnstaple, who are struggling after suffering a stormy start to their debut at this level of League rugby.

They may be at the bottom of the table League but their 24-24 draw at Barnes last weekend shows they are no slouches and so it is imperative that Titans are on their game to prove they are over their October wobble.

It is not such a long journey, so it would be great to hear some Taunton support from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, this evening (Friday), the Warriors entertain Clevedon in a quarter-final tie of the Somerset County Cup (ko 7.30pm) - some vociferous Taunton support would be most welcome to cheer the lads on.