TAUNTON Titans head coach Tony Yapp called for his side to be more clinical after they almost blew a handsome lead against Canterbury on Saturday.

The hosts held on to win 23-22, but Yapp wants his team to be finishing games off much earlier.

READ MORE: Titans cling on to claim important Canterbury victory

The head coach said: "[The nerves] aren't great. We made hard work of it for ourselves, and we don't want to be leaving it down to the last kick.

"In the last couple of weeks we've had to dig in and work hard; we're creating lots of opportunities and not being as clinical as we'd like, which is frustrating.

"If as a team we can start being more clinical, we can start putting teams away a bit more, I think.

"A win is a win, though - that's the main thing, and we've only lost one in five games."

Yapp also gave credit to Canterbury, who fought back with two late tries to make the home crowd sweat.

"Take nothing away from Canterbury - they're a good side and they had three wins from four games," he said.

"They're always well organised, and if you give them a sniff and allow them to stay in the game they're a tough team to beat.

"They seem to be getting better and come the end of the season they'll be there or thereabouts."

He also praised back row forwards Ratu Vakalutukali and Jarrard Hayler, who both impressed in the game - Vakalutukali earning the man of the match award.

"[The award] was a toss-up between the two of them, and you could give it to them pretty much every week.

"Their energy, their commitment and their willingness to keep going and going makes a big difference to us - they're just exceptional players."

There was less good news for Freddie Fraser, the centre being stretchered off in the second half.

Yapp said: "It's not looking great; I spoke to our physio Adam, and they're sent him for an X-ray straight away.

"Hopefully it's not too bad, but Freddie's quite a hard character and he doesn't make much fuss, so for him to get carried off is not a good sign."

Next up for the Titans is an away trip to face London Irish Wild Geese; they may not have any league points on the board, but the Taunton side will not take them lightly, having lost this fixture 45-38 last season.

Yapp added: "We've had a lot of bumps and bruises today, and I think we'll have to lay off a little in training on Tuesday, in terms of the intensity of what we do, look at what we did well today and what we need to work on.

"Wild Geese are one of those teams who, as bad as they can be, they always seem to be there or thereabouts whenever we play them.

"They have got the ability to play and throw the ball around, so we certainly won't be taking it for granted - we'll be going up there and putting every effort into making sure we get the right result."