Matt Challinor makes his first league start of the season v Fylde tomorrow
Photo: Gareth Siddons
Rotherham Titans are expecting a massive challenge this weekend when they host table-toppers Fylde in round 6 of Nat 2 North; kick-off on Saturday at Clifton Lane is 2pm.
The South Yorkshire side will go into the game on the back of three consecutive victories; the last one being a dramatic thriller which saw them snatch all the points in the final play of the game at Wharfedale.
The win was Titans’ first-ever at The Avenue and moves them onto a 4-1 win record for the season and also maintains them a presence at the top end of the table.
However, Roth’s opponents this week can boast of an even better record as they have a perfect five from five and have picked up the bonus point in every game.
The most notable and impressive result for Fylde was an away win at Hull Ionians in week 4. Ionians act as a useful form guide as they narrowly beat the Titans in week 2.
So all in all, there’s little doubt Rotherham will have their hands full when the North West side hit town on Saturday.
Going into the game Rotherham have made 2 changes to their starting XV, both of which come in the pack.
Rupert Kay comes into the back row as skipper Zak Poole goes into the second row for Theo Nwosu-Hope; whilst the other change sees Matt Challinor return from injury and he comes into the second row for Lewis Allan.
Looking ahead to the match Titans head coach Adam Byron said:
“We were delighted with the result against Wharfedale; any time you go away from home, particularly to a place like Wharfedale, and come away with a five point win, you are obviously going to be pleased.
“The boys were ecstatic with the win and quite rightly too; I think when we talk about mentality something the boys never fall short of is heart and they put absolutely everything into that game. They put their bodies on the line time and again and they needed to be physical.
“So, having been on the edge of losing the game and coming away with just one point, to then turn it around at the death into a five points win, was really a fabulous watch and all credit to the boys.
“The lads will need to put that same level of physicality and heart in again this weekend as we know just how good Fylde are. They are five from five and have got the bonus point from all of their games and they are quite rightly at the top of the league and fully deserve to be there.
“They have a very impressive team who like to throw the ball about and we know from last year they have some real gas. They are also strong in the pack, they are very organised and they like to give the backline a strong platform on which to perform.
“So we’ll approach them as we do every team in that we’ll give them massive respect.
“And we know if we are going to get any type of result we’ll need to be at our best in every aspect of the game; anything less will not be good enough this week.
“However, I have belief in our players and I know they relish a challenge and the challenge doesn’t get any bigger than taking on the best team in the league. Hopefully the lads will again find it from within to go out there and show everyone just what they can do and if they do that, we have every chance of getting on the right side of the result.”
Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman, 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 5 Matt Challinor, 6 Marcus Payne, 7 Rupert Kay, 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Louis Inman, 17 Danny Rylance, 18 Alastair Donkor, 19 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 20 Kai Ramrattan.
