Boars go close but Titans too strong in the finish

The Borderer Boars were speared at the death by a more experienced Newport Titans side in a 50-48 Welsh Rugby League Conference defeat this afternoon.

Searching for their first victory having formed for the new season, they pushed their well-established visitors close before finally going down in the closing minutes at their Upton Memorial Ground home in Chepstow.

Despite the loss, captain John Rogers was mightily impressed with his side’s performance as they get to grips with competitive Rugby League – many having rarely played it before.

He said: “We improved massively again. We were leading for the majority of it and it was a shame we couldn’t hold on.

“A couple of injuries rocked us and in the end inexperience cost us some cheap tries. There were a couple of new faces today who had never played Rugby League before so we did well.”

Newport started the better and were a couple of tries ahead early on. But their plucky hosts came back in to it and the lead fluctuated between the two sides for much of the half.

The Boars moved 36-24 ahead just before the break, and they kept their noses in front until there were just eight minutes remaining on the clock.

With the Boars down to 12 due to injuries and having used their only two substitutes, the Titans struck, and registered four tries in the closing stages to steal the victory. The Boars did register two of their own, including the final score of the game, but it was not to be.

Captain Rogers was among the scorers by grabbing a brace, while Josh Hamman caught the eye with a hat-trick as the Boars pushed for that maiden win. The other touchdowns came from Josh Ashby, Thomas Bond, Dan Chiu, Rhys Cresswell and John O’Neill.

The home crowd were once again receptive, which pleased Rogers further. “There was a decent crowd of about 75 and they really got in to it,” he added. “They hung around after and asked us when our next fixtures were so this is positive.”

Next up for the Boars is a trip to the Valley Cougars on June 8.