This Saturday round seven of National League 1 sees Rotherham Titans take on the dangerous Hertfordshire-based side Bishop's Stortford; kick-off at Clifton Lane is 2pm.
Last week Titans had to mount a second half comeback before overcoming a spirited and lively Leicester Lions outfit 34-17 in a bonus point win at Westleigh Park.
Trailing at half time for the first time this season Rotherham showed good composure to overcome the hosts in the second half as they scored 24 unanswered points.
Titans’ opponents this week also put in an impressive display last time out despite suffering a narrow 10-6 loss to league leaders Rams.
At one point in the second half Bishop’s were down to 13 players and forced into uncontested scrums. However, during that period they managed to keep out the division’s leading points scorers, a testament to their defensive qualities and determined mindset.
Stortford’s current league position sees them tenth in the table; however, they have notable wins over Leicester Lions (36-12) and an impressive away win over Sedgley Park (27-12).
The sides have met on four previous occasions, all taking place in National 1 with the overall head-to-head standing at 2 each. However, Bishop’s have won the last two times the sides have met.
Indeed, the final meeting was the last match Roth played before lockdown and the premature ending of the rugby season back in March 2020.
Going into this week’s game Rotherham have made three changes to their starting XV.
Two of the changes come in the front row where hooker Jack Bergmanas is joined by props and co-captain Charlie Capps who comes in for Zach Toerien at loosehead and Andrew Foster who comes in for Alastair Donkor at tighthead.
The second row stays the same with co-captain Zak Poole lining up alongside Curran Maguire.
The back row is also unchanged with John Okafor and Harry Newborn on the flanks and Callum Bustin at number 8.
Across the backline scrum half JB Bruzulier is joined in the half backs by Rob Povey who comes in for Corben Ollivent.
Lloyd Hayes and Jamie Cooke retain their partnership in midfield, as do the back three with Tomasi Tanumi and Jack Hedley on the wings and Ronnie Du Randt at full back.
Commenting ahead of the game Harvey Biljon said:
“Last week’s game against Leicester Lions was one we had to work really hard for to get a result. I was very pleased at the end that we had picked up 5 points away from home and I think that’s really important. But we were really challenged, I think their first score was well-deserved and well-earnt. Their second score was probably a bouncing ball and against the run of play, but that’s the way rugby goes, it doesn’t always go your way.
“I think our team took on some key points through half time to turn things around after being 17-10 down. The control we showed in the second half to dominate possession and territory with balanced scores through the forwards and backs and earning those penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over was full credit to the players.
“We were composed at half time; it was calm in the dressing room and there was no hairdryer treatment. We had three specific points around maintaining our discipline, around the tackle area and around focusing on ourselves on how we were going to exert pressure; and the players executed that well.
“We’ll have to be really focused again against Bishop’s Stortford because they are an established National 1 team. Last weekend against Rams where they were down to 13 players and had to deal with uncontested scrums. I look at that and see a team that shows a huge amount of resilience, a huge amount of endeavour and a huge amount of fight and drive to show they will stick in a game when the odds are against them and that’s why they’ll be a dangerous team against us.
“However, we want to try put on another good performance at home and build on last weekend’s second half. We know we’ve still got a long way to go, and we’ve got the challenges around the injuries and selection and competition for places, but we’ve just got to keep focusing on ourselves and not get too carried away with anything else.”
Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Tomasi Tanumi, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps (c), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Andrew Foster, 4 Zak Poole (c), 5 Curran Maguire, 6 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn, 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Alastair Donkor, 19 Ben Copley, 20 James Naylor.
