Rotherham Titans face their biggest test of pre-season so far on Saturday when the newly promoted Champ Rugby side travel north to take on Premiership outfit Newcastle Red Bulls at Kingston Park.

The game kicks off at 2:30pm and represents a significant step up in opposition for the South Yorkshire club as preparations continue ahead of their return to the second tier of English rugby.

Titans have made an impressive start to their pre-season programme, recording emphatic victories over National 2 opposition in their opening fixtures. They followed up a big win over Old Albanian with another convincing success against Oundle last month, scoring freely in both games as they began to build momentum.

However, Saturday’s challenge will be a very different proposition.

Newcastle, an established Premiership side, will provide Rotherham with a much sterner examination, with the Kingston Park encounter offering Titans the opportunity to measure themselves against players accustomed to competing at the highest level of the English game.

The match will also be played on Kingston Park’s artificial surface, providing another challenge for Rotherham as they adapt to the fast conditions and look to impose their own style of play.

For Titans Harvey Biljon and his coaching staff, the result will be secondary to the opportunity to assess the squad and identify where improvements are still required.

With the Champ campaign fast approaching, every minute on the field will be valuable as the squad continues to develop combinations and build match fitness.

Rotherham will be looking to take plenty of confidence from their two sizeable victories, while also recognising that the step up in quality on Saturday will be considerable.

The trip to Kingston Park should therefore provide a fascinating indication of where Titans currently stand in their preparations.

Against Premiership opposition, Rotherham will be tested in every department, but it is precisely this type of challenge that will help prepare them for life back in the Champ.

15 Ryan McGloin

14 Jackson Barling

13 Lloyd Hayes

12 Ali Mgijima

11 Ben Cambriani

10 Russell Bennett ©

9 JB Bruzulier

1 Zac Nearchou

2 Morgan Veness

3 Tom Bairstow

4  Louis Guthrie

5  John Okafor

6 James Brown

7 Harry Stone

8  Ellis Thomas

16 Louis Inman

17 Alastair Donkor

18 Corrie Barrett

19 Curran Maguire

20 Jack Baldry

21 Travis Gordon

22 Lekima Ravuvu

23 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti

24 Tom Threlfall

25 Gus Patterson

26 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola

27 Isaac Shaw