TAUNTON Titans head coach Tony Yapp was full of praise for Greg Kitson after the full-back helped his side to a convincing win over Barnes on Saturday.

The youngster, making his full debut for the club, was solid under the high ball and looked a constant threat in attack.

His performance was crowned by the try of the day, which saw Kitson collect the ball in his own half before catching his own delicate chip and sprinting past two tackles from 40 metres out.

Yapp said: “Greg looked really sharp every time he got the ball.

“He was unfortunate not to get away a couple more times but he took his try very, very well.

“Greg just loves playing. He expresses himself every time he plays and he’s always got a massive smile on his face.

“He’s fully justified his starting place and I’m delighted he’s come in and had such an impact.”

Yapp has coached Kitson at Blundell’s School from the age of 12 - as was the case with Oscar Kolowski and Ben Oliphant-Thompson, who also got themselves on the scoresheet in Saturday’s win.

“A lot of kids coming out of school drift out of rugby,” Yapp said.

“For me, there are so many talented school players so I’m trying to get as many guys involved as I can, be it with the Titans or the Warriors.”

Yapp was also pleased with the cutting edge his side showed, particularly in the early stages.

Taunton had secured their four-try bonus point by the 20th minute, with catch-and-drive tries by Barrie Chapman and George Gosling backed up by further scores from wingers Kolowski and Jack Arnott.

Kolowski added a second before the break, with Julian Salvi also touching down in an eventful first half which ended with Taunton 36-5 ahead.

“There was a real focus about the boys in training this week surrounding not letting them into it,” Yapp said.

“Barnes are always a dangerous team who seem to raise their game against us so we are over the moon, particularly with the first half.

“Some of the tries we scored were excellent. Our forward pack were very strong today and we were ruthless in and around their tryline.

“In games gone by we have let teams off the hook.

“Today we were ruthless, particularly in the first 20 minutes, and every time we got in there we scored. That’s the way it has to be.”

The final word went to the groundstaff, who produced an excellent pitch which showed no signs of the morning deluge which postponed several sporting fixtures in the area on Saturday.

“If someone had said to me this morning, when I was getting drenched walking the dog, that we would win 48-19, I would definitely have taken it,” Yapp said.

“The pitch was amazing. The groundstaff do an unbelievable job in getting the pitch up to speed.

“We warmed up on separate pitches to try and preserve the main one as much as we could – when the groundstaff put as much effort in as they do, the least we can do is stay off it whenever possible.”