A try in the second minute of injury time by flanker Ryan Burrows not only wrapped up victory but also secured the bonus point on a dream afternoon for the South Yorkshiremen.

The celebrations at the final whistle showed how much the win meant to Rotherham, and it was the perfect response to their four-point deduction last week for fielding an ineligible player.

It is now three victories on the trot for the Titans, and delighted head coach Craig West said: "We've been working hard, but before this game we hadn't beaten a side in the top half of the table this season and the lads did really well.

"We tired a bit near the end, but we played the right game and the players gave everything they had, so that's why we are a bit happy about it all."

The Titans got off to a fantastic start, roaring into a 17-0 lead after only 13 minutes to stun the partisan home crowd.

A missed tackle by Pirates winger Aisea Havili on opposite number Errie Claassens provided the opportunity for a try by full-back Mike Whitehead, who had an outstanding game.

Former Pirates fly-half Tom Barlow slotted the conversion, added a penalty, and then also improved a try by winger Jon Feeley, who ran in from 75 metres after intercepting a pass by Iva Motusaga during a dangerous Pirates attack.

The Cornishmen eventually woke up with a touchdown by French No.8 Bertrand Bedes after good work by former Doncaster centre Tom Luke, who also kicked the conversion, before captain Whitehead banged over a superb 50-metre penalty to put the Titans 20-7 ahead.

The Pirates improved in the run-up to half-time, with Luke slotting a simple penalty, and then converting a lovely try by former Rotherham winger Brian Tuohy to make the half-time score 20-17 to the Titans.

But the visitors struck a telling blow only two minutes after the break when Whitehead received possession inside his own half, cleverly chipped the ball over the defence and regathered before feeding Feeley, and he passed inside to No.8 Jon Skurr, who cut a lovely path to the try line. With Barlow converting, Rotherham were 10 points ahead.

Two Luke penalties cut the deficit to only four as injury time approached, but when the Pirates seemed all set to score after a period of intense pressure, they knocked on and Whitehead booted the ball downfield, where blindside flanker Burrows wriggled over in the corner just moments later to seal victory.

There was still time for Pirates prop Dan Seal to crash over for a try to earn the hosts a bonus point.

Titans: Whitehead (capt), Feeley, Hunt, Briers, Claassens, Barlow, N Chivers (Erskine), Corsar (O'Donnell), Conroy (Horn), Prescott (O'Donnell), Hayter, Challinor (McGowan ), Burrows, Du Plessis (Barnes), Skurr. Replacements not used: Allen, West.

Titans scorers: Tries - Whitehead, Feeley, Skurr, Burrows; Cons - Barlow 3; Pens - Barlow, Whitehead.

Referee: Greg Garner (RFU).

Attendance: 2,488.
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