National 2 South

Taunton Titans 32, Dings Crusaders 30

A PENALTY with the last kick of the game secured an exhilarating victory for Taunton Titans in their final home match of the season.

The hosts had earlier let a comfortable half-time lead slip against their Bristol-based opponents and looked set for a third straight defeat, only for Gary Kingdom's last-gasp kick to send the majority of the crowd home happy.

The Titans started the game on top and scored the first points when Nick Mason went over for a try converted by Kingdom.

Dings got themselves on the board through an unconverted score from Jordan Grattan but two Taunton tries stretched the lead.

The first came from wing Matt Jess, converted by Kingdom, before Barrie-John Chapman found himself in an unfamiliar spot out wide but had the pace to go over.

The Titans led 19-5 at the break but Harry Tovey went in under the posts in the first minute of the second half and the lead was cut to just two points when Ashley Challenger barrelled over shortly afterwards.

Taunton secured their bonus point through a Charlie Samways try but again Dings roared back, taking the lead for the first time in the match after Josh Trinham's try was followed up by Grattan's second of the game.

The rollercoaster ride continued as Mason scored his second for the Titans only for Tovey to slot a penalty to give the visitors a 30-29 lead going into the dying minutes.

Dings then gave away a penalty in front of the posts and Kingdom did the necessary to secure victory in a topsy-turvy encounter - one of many Taunton have had this season.

Taunton will finish fifth no matter what the results of their final two matches, which are at Guernsey next Saturday and Worthing on April 27.

Taunton Titans: Alex Rodd, Chris Francis, Isaac Dalton; Barrie-John Chapman, Cory Teague; Dan Ogden, Max Woodward, Ben Oliphant-Thompson; Oli Massy-Birch, Lewis Webb; Toby East, Nick Mason; Freddie Fraser, Matt Jess, Gary Kingdom. Replacements: Andy Hamilton, Connor Baker, Brett Harvey, Sam Baker, Charlie Samways