Newly promoted Rotherham Titans begin their pre-season preparations tonight by taking on Yorkshire rivals Leeds Tykes at Clifton Lane; kick-off is 7:30pm, with entry £5 and kids free.
Harvey Biljon has selected an extended squad for this first run out, as he monitors some of the new recruits and tries out different combinations.
The starting XV has a familiar look to it with nine of the starters either being at Clifton Lane last term or have returned to the club.
Indeed, only six starters will be pulling on the Rotherham jersey for the first time; they include in the front row at loose head prop Zach Toerien who has joined from Boroughmuir in Scotland. Luke Cole starts at hooker whilst at tight head there is a return for stalwart Rikki Stout.
The second row has a fresh look to it following Matt Challinor and Matt Smith retirements, as Curran Maguire (Durham University RFC) and Harry Gilson-Fox (Brunel University (West London) RFC) look to establish themselves in those positions.
The back row has two new flankers with Johannesburg native Travis Gordon and former Hull Ionians forward Ben Copley, whilst there’s a recognizable look at number eight with Zak Poole.
The backline sees a familiar pair of half backs in JB Bruzulier and a return to the club from Darlington Mowden Park of Corben Ollivent.
The centre pairing of Tomasi Tanumi and Lloyd Hayes is instantly recognisable, whilst a back three sees a most welcome return for winger Jamie Cooke, who has worked so hard to get back on the field of play, following a horrendous leg injury over 2 years ago at Wharfedale.
Cuchulain Livingstone is a familiar face on the other wing, whilst at full back Ronnie Du Randt will hope to impress following his arrival from Championship side Nottingham.
Speaking ahead of the game Harvey Biljon explained:
“What a great fixture this is for our supporters, Rotherham Titans Vs Leeds Tykes.
“It was one of the great games from last season and I’m sure Leeds will be carrying a little bit of emotion coming into it, having seen Rotherham gain promotion rather than themselves who were favourites throughout the campaign.
“However, for us we have a very new squad and we will be building for the new season. For me personally as a coach I’ll be looking to find out a lot about our new players and looking forward to what they can contribute to Rotherham.
“At this stage players and supporters can’t be reading too much into the selection of the team because I will be looking at combinations, continuity, performance and the general character of the players competitiveness out there on the park.
“My eye will not be on the scoreboard; my eye will be on player movement, second-effort, skill, attitude around the collisions and detail around what we have been training on.”
Titans: 15 Ronnie Du Randt, 14 Cuchulain Livingstone, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Tomasi Tanumi, 11 Jamie Cooke, 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Zach Toerien, 2 Luke Cole, 3 Rikki Stout, 4 Curran Maguire, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 Travis Gordon, 7 Ben Copley, 8 Zak Poole (Capt.).
Replacements: Charlie Capps, Jack Bergmanas, Andrew Foster, John Okafor, Lewis Allan, Callum Bustin, James Naylor, Charlie Metcalf/Rob Povey, Tainne Finn, Joe Mounsey, Travis Gideon, Jack Townend.
Referee: Ben Rayner
Assistant Referees: Jason Garrick & Matt Daubney
