RUGBY: Taunton Titans head coach Tony Yapp pleased with win over London Irish Wild Geese

The hosts came through a tough encounter on Saturday afternoon, in miserable weather and facing a resilient visiting defence.

But tries from Max Woodward, Toby East (2) and Freddie Fraser ensure a bonus-point win for the Titans.

READ MORE: Taunton Titans v London Irish Wild Geese as it happened

Yapp told the County Gazette: "It's a massive win for us – at this stage of the season any win's a good one.

"There are teams fighting for the top two places and there are teams at the bottom fighting for their lives, and what we came up against was a team that didn't give up on anything.

"The tough conditions were a little bit of a leveller, but credit to our guys – we were consistent throughout, and I was very pleased with us defensively.

"We defended well around the middle of the field, which didn't allow them to put much pressure on our line.

"We took our opportunities quite well, as we left a few out there, but it's four tries and a bonus point."

Taking a 12-3 lead into half time proved significant, as the Titans were playing into a strong wind in the opening 40 minutes.

Yapp added: "It was a funny game; the first 20-25 minutes seemed to go by very quickly with nothing really happening, both teams slugging it out.

"We had to be patient, but I think the try from Toby [East] on the stroke of half time was huge for us.

"It meant going into the second half with the wind at our backs, and looking to score two more tries was doable.

"Normally these games are very high-scoring, so we said that if we could minimise their opportunities to score, then there would be a good chance of us pushing on to get the win.

"They [Wild Geese] also defended very well today, they were very committed, they were a tough nut to crack, and it was pleasing for us that we were able to be patient enough to stick to what we do, and get the reward."

He also hailed the performance of man of the match Max Woodward, the flanker scoring the opening try as part of an industrious performance.

"Max has come from Clifton, where he played for four or five years, but he fancied a change this year and I spoke to him a lot over summer," said Yapp.

"Unfortunately he got injured in pre-season playing sevens, and he had to have an operation on his ankle.

"But he's still been turning up and having physio with Adam [Rutter], and that's got him back a lot quicker than expected.

"He's very positive, very dogged, he works very hard and he's a great addition to the team, especially with Toots [Ratu Vakalutukali] away at the moment.

"But even when Toots comes back, if he's playing like that he'll take some shifting.

"It's a shot in the arm for us to have that fresh face, new energy and something different in the team, and I think he'll only get better over the next few weeks."

This coming Saturday pits the third-placed Titans against Henley Hawks, who are fourth, for a crunch match in the promotion battle.

Yapp said: "It's a big trip next week and we're looking forward to it.

"This is a situation we haven't been in for a little while, fighting for second place, and I've said to the guys, it's not a case of putting ourselves under pressure – we've just got to enjoy it.

"We've got to see it as an opportunity, a challenge, to keep ourselves in the mix by going out and expressing ourselves.

"Hopefully as the season goes on, the weather will get nicer and the pitches will be firmer.

"Every week is exciting and we just need to make sure we keep putting our own performances together, and be aware that each game from now until the end of the season is going to be a real battle."