Rotherham Titans are ready and well-prepared for the challenge that visitors Tynedale will no doubt present this weekend in round 11 of National 2 North; kick-off at Clifton Lane on Saturday is 2pm.
A lot has happened at Rotherham since their last outing against Hull 3 weeks ago. There has been a rest week, a game lost to Covid and a change of head coach which has seen Steve Salvin leave the club and Adam Byron replace him from Sheffield RUFC.
So it’s a big thanks to Salvo for all his efforts and a big hello and welcome to the new man in charge, Adam Byron, or as he likes to be known Baz!
The last time Titans took on Tynedale in the league was 30 years ago; the match took place at Clifton Lane back in December 1991, in which Roth ran out 16-4 winners in North 1, back when you got 4 points for scoring a try.
It was an important game for both sides as Roth won the division unbeaten that year and Tynedale came second, with their only defeat in that campaign being the Rotherham one.
And the game on Saturday has the potential to be a vital one again, as Rotherham once again pursues their ambition of winning the division.
Going into the match Titans have made 3 changes to the starting XV which beat Hull last time out.
Two of the changes come in the backline, as Jamie Cooke returns on the wing for George Tucker and Sam Boxhall comes in at scrum half for Jonny West. The sole change in the pack sees Marcus Payne return in the back row for Theo Nwosu-Hope who drops on to the bench.
Looking ahead to his first game in charge, head coach, Adam Byron said:
“I am incredible excited about joining Rotherham Titans as head coach. I’m obviously aware of the history of the club and of the quality of squad that I have come into and I’m just champing at the bit to get stuck in.
“Our opponents this week are Tynedale; they are a traditional rugby club who have a big pack of forwards, but they also like to throw the ball around too. Their pack will be the foundation they’ll build from and they’ll front up to the challenge.
“They’ve won 2 out of their last 3 and narrowly lost to Harrogate last week, but they picked up 2 points from that one. They didn’t have the greatest start to the season, but you can see from their recent results they have now found their feet and are a team on the way up.
“It’s noticeable that they are scoring 30 points plus in games and they are obviously a team which likes to attack and throw the ball about and I expect them to really push us on Saturday.
“However, if we get the basics right, make sure our set piece is solid and our work rate is high, I believe we are capable of delivering the right result.”
Titans: 15 Tom Lewis, 14 Connor Field, 13 Mat Clark, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Harry Newborn, 3 Rikki Stout, 4 Matt Challinor, 5 Matt Smith, 6 Marcus Payne, 7 Zak Poole (Capt.), 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Fran Entressengle, 17 Alastair Donkor, 18 Colin Quigley, 19 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 20 Sam Pocklington.
