National 2 South
London Irish Wild Geese 36, Taunton Titans 46

TAUNTON Titans kept themselves joint top of the National 2 South standings with victory at London Irish Wild Geese on Saturday.

But, just as in last season's corresponding fixture, this was a match to give the defence coaches nightmares, as basement side Wild Geese never allowed the visitors to get too far ahead.

In difficult conditions, with the rain non-stop, Taunton made an ideal start when Ollie Rice went over for the first try of the match in the very first minute.

However, the Titans made a mess of the restart and were punished when Joshua Amadi crossed.

Gary Kingdom kicked the away side into a 10-7 lead with a penalty, only for Brandon Baker to go over for the hosts from a driving maul.

Still the teams continued to trade points, as Sam Brown scored a converted try for the Titans, before Baker scored his second for the Geese.

Jarrard Hayler inched his side back into the lead with the visitors' third try just before the half-hour, only for the home side to pounce on more suspect Titans defending as George Owen got the home side's fourth - a try bonus which secured the Geese their first league point of the season.

But it was Taunton who led at half time, the forwards piling forward from a scrum and Ben Oliphant-Thompson getting the try - converted by Kingdom for a 31-26 scoreline at the break.

The lead was short-lived, Amadi claiming a kick ahead to make it 31-31, but then Ratu Vakalutukali continued his fine form for the Titans by bursting through for another converted try.

Kingdom stretched the lead with a penalty, and although Owen scored the hosts' sixth try, it went unconverted, and Brown's second try gave the away side a 46-36 lead with 15 minutes left.

Only now did the Titans manage to close up shop, keeping the hosts where they wanted them and defending with more resilience.

That ensured an away victory and five points, but the Titans coaches will know that their side must cut out the errors and sloppy defence if they are to remain near the top of the table.

This coming Saturday (ko 3pm) brings the visit of Henley Hawks, who are currently sixth in the table and who won 42-31 at Hyde Park last campaign.

Taunton Titans: Gary Kingdom, Noah Sixton, Ollie Rice, Nick Mason (c), Aron Struminski, Sam Brown (Oli Toomey 70), Lewis Webb, Isaac Dalton (Sam Williams 55), Chris Francis, Sonny Haines (Alfie Petch 62), Corry Teague (Stu Persey 52), Brett Harvey, Ratu Vakalutukali, Jarrard Hayler, Ben Oliphant-Thompson (Jamie Fleming 62).