Rotherham Titans are prepared for a real battle tomorrow when they take on second placed side Blackheath FC at Clifton Lane; kick-off is 2pm.
On the back of three consecutive victories Rotherham are eager to continue their push towards the top-end of the division, as they look to regain their place in the Greene King IPA Championship for the 2019/20 season.
However, their ambitions will be fully tested when the London based side visit, as they will come into the game full of confidence on the back of an unbeaten 9-game run and have lost just 2 games all season.
Ahead of the clash Titans have made 3 changes to the starting XV that narrowly beat Bishop’s Stortford last time out at Silver Leys.
Along the backline Connor Dever comes in at scrum half for Alex Dolly and Connor Field comes in on the wing for the injured Henry Roberts; whilst the sole change in the pack sees Luis Ball come into the second row for the injured Jamie Ure.
Speaking ahead of the game Titans’ Joe Barker explained, “We know it’s going to be tough and we’ll need to be clinical and take every opportunity we create, because against a top-end side like Blackheath, if you don’t they will punish you.
They are one of the form sides in the league and they’ve got a lot of good players from 1-20. If we don’t get it right we could be embarrassed, there’s no doubt this will be one of the toughest challenges we have faced this season.
“They like to play a good brand of rugby, they hold a lot of width and they’re not afraid to put it through the hands, but they’re also not afraid to take you on up front, especially at the scrum. With props Tom Williams and Danny Herriott in their side, they obviously have Championship quality in there.
“They like to scrum for penalties and then kick into the corner and drive you over and they’ll be keen to employ that plan against us. However, as I said they’re not a one dimensional side and they can definitely play some rugby, so we have got to be on our toes at all times.
“These are the games that players look forward to, the challenge is a massive one but it’s one we are looking forward to. We just need to be consistent in our approach and clinical in finishing off our opportunities; if we are then it’s a game we can win.”
Titans: 15 Callum Irvine, 14 Dan Leake, 13 Harry Dunne, 12 Ellis Abrahams, 11 Connor Field, 10 Joe Barker, 9 Connor Dever, 1 Dan Richardson, 2 Ali Thomson, 3 Rikki Stout, 4 Conor Keys, 5 Luis Ball, 6 Smith-Wano, 7 Zak Poole, 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Jack Bergmanas, 17 Will Dennis, 18 Jessie Williams, 19 Alex Dolly, 20 Jamie Cooke.
