Rotherham Titans will hope to maintain their push at the top end of National 2 North on Saturday when they travel to the North West to take on Lymm; kick-off at Crouchley Lane is 3pm.
Both teams are in good nick as both are unbeaten in their last 3 outings and with the game taking place on a 3G pitch, the match is set to be an intriguing affair.
Lymm, new to the division this year following their promotion, had a slow start to the campaign as they adjusted to the higher level, but as the season has progressed, so have they.
Notable victories over Tynedale and Hull Ionians have been earned, but the real eye-catching result for them was their impressive win at Fylde, all of which demonstrates the threat they possess on a given day.
Not surprisingly then, Rotherham will not underestimate their task and will give the home side their due respect.
When the clubs met earlier in the season at Clifton Lane it was Rotherham that ran out 33-10 winners. The sole previous league meeting came back in 1989, where Rotherham’s Director of Rugby, Martin Jenkinson played in the back row in a 34-9 win.
Going into this week’s game Titans have made four changes to the starting XV that beat Sheffield Tigers last time out, three of which come in the forwards.
In the front row Jack Bergmanas comes in at hooker for Luke Cole with Gareth Denman coming in at tight head prop for Reece Ward, whilst in a reshuffled back row Lewis Allan comes in for John Okafor who moves into the second row for the injured Matt Smith.
The one change in the backs sees Jack Taylor return on the wing for Tainne Finn.
Speaking ahead of the match Titans Harvey Biljon said:
“We were pleased with the Tigers game; the players put in a comprehensive performance in terms of going after what we are trying to achieve on the field and how we want to control the pitch. But then missing or not taking opportunities is a key work on for us and that’s an area where we need to be better.
“I spoke to the players and said let’s be greedy, let’s aim for that 80-minute performance. We put in a performance for 70 minutes and as much as you want to hold out the opposition, you have to give credit to Tigers because they never gave up, even after the game was long gone.
“This week we take on Lymm and we’ll strive to put in that 80-minute performance.
“Lymm play on a synthetic pitch and our preparation has been modified slightly as you have to expect different things, but at the same time we have to focus on ourselves and on the areas that are going well for us at the moment.
“If we can get that right then whatever the surface we play on it’s not going to make a huge impact.
“Sometimes players get excited with an artificial pitch as they think there’s an opportunity to move the ball around, but in all honesty we are just looking forward to playing on a firm surface.
“Teams that have a 3G pitch tend to try and play a bit more, they feel they have a slight advantage and naturally the game is going to be faster and you would anticipate that they train and play at a higher tempo because some of the other pitches in the division are more traditional and heavier underfoot.
“So we’ll have to match that tempo and I’m confident that our players have prepared well and want to put in a performance - if we can do that the result will take care of itself.”
Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Tomasi Tanumi, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Will Milner, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman, 4 Matt Challinor, 19 John Okafor, 7 Lewis Allan, 25 Harry Newborn, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 30 Reece Ward, 18 Rupert Kay, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 Will Metcalfe.
