National 2 South

Birmingham & Solihull 20, Taunton Titans 28

TAUNTON Titans came out on the right side of a topsy-turvy game at Birmingham & Solihull to record their third win in four National 2 South matches.

The Titans had seen a 17-6 lead become a 20-17 deficit, but Aron Struminski's try in the closing minutes gave the visitors breathing space and ensured they returned to Somerset with victory.

The scoring began with a penalty apiece before relentless pressure from the Titans forwards earned a penalty try for a 10-3 lead.

Birmingham slotted over another penalty to reduce the arrears but Chris Francis powered over for a try which Toby East converted to open up a healthy advantage for the visitors.

Taunton went to sleep from the restart, however, and Marcus Brown went over for a converted try which brought the score back to 17-13 at half-time.

The hosts then edged ahead in the second half when Corey Venus touche down, but Gary Kingdom's penalty brought the scores level at 20-20.

Another Kingdom penalty from bang in front put the Titans back in the lead, and Struminski's late score settled any nerves as Taunton earned a hard-fought win at their newly-promoted opponents.

Next week, Taunton host Canterbury.

Taunton Titans: Connor Baker, Chris Francis, Sonny Haines, Brett Harvey, Barrie-John Chapman, Ratu Vakalutukali, Jarrad Hayler, Sam Prior; Jacob Nash, Lewis Webb, Toby East, Freddie Fraser, Aron Struminski, Oscar Kolowski, Ollie Rice.

Replacements: Alex Spurdle, Isaac Dalton, Ben Oliphant-Thompson, Gary Kingdom, Cory Teague