National 2 South
Taunton Titans 62, Worthing Raiders 24

THE returning Nick Mason helped himself to four tries as Taunton Titans got their new season off to a flying start by thumping Worthing Raiders at the Commsplus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Mason was one of three players - alongside Isaac Dalton and Connor Baker - to have come back to Taunton after leaving to play in New Zealand in the spring.

They were joined by several new faces, with Sam Brown and Jarrard Hayler both looking very impressive on debut.

The hosts dominated from the first whistle, their forwards eager for work and overwhelming their opponents - Hayler scoring the first points of the match after Sam Prior broke off the back of a 5m scrum.

A good move from the visitors saw George Brown dash in to score, but the response was instant, as Oscar Kolowski collected Sam Brown's cross-field kick to go over in the corner.

The lead was extended further when Ratu Vakalutukali pinched possession and the ball was worked out for Mason to score his first of the afternoon.

Mason dived over again to secure the try bonus point, and Sam Brown then scored the individual try of the match, dummying and side-stepping his way through to make it 31-5 at half time.

The hosts had another from the restart, Prior and Sam Brown combining to set up Ollie Rice to go over in the corner.

The Titans' seventh try, and Mason's hat-trick, followed more good work from Hayler and Lewis Webb - and he soon has his fourth, as Kolowski seared down the left and passed inside for Mason to complete the counter-attack.

A quick penalty saw Matt Walsh restore some pride for the visitors, only for Kolowski to outpace the defence for his second, and then Vakalutukali to race over after good hands from Dalton.

Late tries from Walsh and Curtis Barnes made the scoreline look a little less one-sided, and earned a bonus point for their side, but this was nonetheless an impressive performance from Taunton.

Coming up for them is a trip to rivals Redruth next Saturday, before they host Clifton the following Friday night.

Taunton Titans: Connor Baker, Alex Spurdle (c), Isaac Dalton, Milo Reynolds, BJ Chapman, Ratu Vakalutukali, Jarrard Hayler, Sam Prior; Lewis Webb, Sam Brown, Ollie Rice, Freddie Fraser, Nick Mason, Oscar Kolowski, Gary Kingdom.
Replacements: Chris Francis, Sonny Haines, Andy England, Ben Oliphant-Thompson, Connor Banks.