Round 13 of National 1 sees Rotherham Titans face one of the toughest tests in the division when they travel to top-of-the-table side Richmond; kick-off at The Athletic Ground on Saturday is 3pm.
Titans will go into the match in good form and on the back of a thrilling encounter with Blackheath last time out, where a Corben Ollivent drop goal in the final play of the game sealed a dramatic 15-12 win.
The victory was Titans fifth on the bounce and tenth of the season and it keeps them third in the table behind Richmond and Rams.
Richmond however are in even better form and are the only unbeaten side in the division, having won 11 and drawn 1, and proudly sit 3 points clear at the top of the pile.
Indeed, Richmond’s last outing was their most impressive result so far, as they went to Rams and narrowly came away 7-5 winners in an intense battle between the top two teams in the division.
So, Rotherham will be aware of the challenge ahead but excited about it too.
The sides have previously met 12 times in all competitions, with Richmond holding an 8-4 advantage and indeed have come out on top in the last 3 encounters.
Going into this week’s game Rotherham have made four changes to their starting XV.
In the front row hooker Jack Bergmanas comes in for Luke Cole and he is flanked by props Charlie Capps at loosehead and Alastair Donkor at tighthead who comes in for Andrew Foster.
The second row sees Curran Maguire lining up alongside skipper Zak Poole who moves from the back row to replace the injured Frankie Gascoigne, whilst Ellis Thomas fills the gap in the back row and is joined there by John Okafor and Callum Bustin.
Across the backline scrum half JB Bruzulier is once again accompanied by Corben Ollivent in the half back positions, with Lloyd Hayes and Jamie Cooke maintaining their partnership in midfield.
The back three sees Rob Povey return to the side at full back; a move which sees Ronnie Du Randt move on to the wing for Tomasi Tanumi, with Aidan Shortall on the other wing.
Titans: 15 Rob Povey, 14 Aidan Shortall, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Jamie Cooke, 11 Ronnie Du Randt, 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps ©, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Alastair Donkor, 4 Zak Poole ©, 5 Curran Maguire, 6 John Okafor, 7 Ellis Thomas, 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Loma Kivalu, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Harry Gilson-Fox, 20 James Naylor.
