Titans face another stern test under the Clifton Lane lights

Rotherham Titans will experience another first when they welcome Caldy to Clifton Lane on Friday evening, with the South Yorkshire club preparing for their first-ever Champ Rugby Friday night fixture under the lights.

Kick-off is at 7.45pm and, following the extraordinary events of last weekend, there is every reason to expect another entertaining contest as the newly promoted Titans look to build on their dramatic victory over Bedford Blues.

Rotherham produced another memorable afternoon last Saturday, edging out the visitors 40-38 in a pulsating 12-try thriller.

With the final play approaching, Bedford looked to have rescued a share of the spoils when back rower Archie Benson dotted down close to the posts, leaving Ben Dufficy with what appeared to be a straightforward conversion to level the scores.

However, as the Bedford fly-half stepped forward to take the decisive kick, Titans winger Ben Cambriani produced a remarkable piece of defending, racing out and charging down the attempt to spark jubilant scenes at Clifton Lane.

The celebrations will have been thoroughly deserved, but Rotherham know they cannot afford to dwell on them for too long.

The short turnaround provides a very different challenge, with Caldy arriving in South Yorkshire as a well-established Champ Rugby outfit and a side that has already demonstrated its competitiveness during the opening weeks of the campaign.

Now in their fifth season at level two, the Wirral club have steadily established themselves in the division and their results so far underline the threat they pose.

Caldy opened their campaign with a narrow two-point defeat against Hartpury, who finished in the top six last season, before responding impressively with an away victory at Blackheath.

They then suffered another narrow setback last time out, going down by just three points to Chinnor, another side that finished among the Championship’s leading club’s last term.

Those results provide a clear indication of the margins involved at this level and Rotherham will be well aware that another huge effort will be required if they are to make it back-to-back victories.

The playing history between the two clubs is relatively short, with the sides having met only twice previously.

Both encounters came during the 2018/19 National One campaign, when Rotherham emerged victorious on each occasion.

Those results, however, tell only part of the story, with the Titans having been made to work exceptionally hard for both victories.

That experience should ensure there is no complacency within the Rotherham camp as they prepare to face a Caldy side whose own start to the season has demonstrated that they are more than capable of competing with established Champ Rugby opposition.

For the Titans, Friday night also offers the opportunity to discover another aspect of life back at level two.

The atmosphere of a floodlit Clifton Lane, coupled with the momentum generated by last weekend’s dramatic triumph, should provide a memorable setting, but Rotherham will need to combine that excitement with discipline, accuracy and the same competitive edge that has already served them so well.

After the drama of Bedford, another stern examination awaits — and under the Friday night lights, Titans will be hoping to produce another performance worthy of the occasion.

Going into the game Titans have made four changes from last week’s starting XV, with three of those changes coming in the pack.

Zac Nearchou comes in at loose head prop for Alastair Donkor, and he’ll be joined in the front row by Morgan Veness at hooker, with Corrie Barrett at tight head in place of Andrew Foster.

John Okafor starts again in the second row, and he’ll be joined in the boiler house by Curran Maguire who comes in for the injured Alfie Bell.

Whilst an unchanged back row sees Lekima Ravuvu at blindside, Travis Gordon at open side and Callum Bustin at number 8.

Across the back line there’s continuity in the half back positions with scrum half JB Bruzulier and Russell Bennett partnering up again.

In midfield Mitchell Lacey-Babalola comes in for Ali Mgijima at inside centre and alongside him at outside centre is Lloyd Hayes.

And Titans have retained the same back three of Ben Cambriani and Jackson Barling on the wings, with Isaac Shaw at Full Back.

Speaking ahead of the match Harvey Biljon said:

“We’ve had some incredible moments after just 3 games.

“You look at how Coventry took off here in week 1 and I’m sure we all thought at 28-12 what direction is this going in? And somehow, we’ve come into the 83rd minute and claimed a victory because we’ve been able to hold them out defensively.

“We then go away to the Champions and in parts we’re in an arm wrestle and in other parts we’re probably blown away with speed on that surface, and we’ve got to rightly take our medicine for our errors and mistakes.

“Then we go into the game last week, where Bedford are a very good team; we had control of the game through 65 minutes and then as we know in this league, it’s 2 or 3 moments and 20-odd points are scored – and then we go and get a charge down in front of the posts.

“It’s crazy to think of the entertainment and rugby going on at Clifton Lane; it’s just unreal.

“Now we move on to Caldy; they are a team that keep the ball really well and are established in the Champ.  If you look at their games to date, they lost by 2 points to Hartpury on the opening weekend, they beat Blackheath in the final play of the game and they just missed out to Chinnor last week by 3 points.

“They are going to give us a serious test, I don’t think I’d be wrong to say I think this is a game they will have targeted to come away from with points.

“Caldy have a good balance to be fair; they’re always going to be confrontational up front, and they could have an injection of loan players. We’ve seen Reuben Logan from Sale Sharks playing for them down at Blackheath; they’ve obviously got some good additions. You can see their scrum half, Nye Thomas, is clearly influencing things and they’ve always got wingers that know the way to the tryline. So, yes, I expect this to be another entertaining encounter at Clifton Lane.

“We’ve rotated through the season, and we must rely on our whole squad. We’ve got a fair few injuries and we need to utilise the squad and keep people fresh. Competition for places is good, and the players are driving standards at training which is making selection tough.

“I’m really looking forward to playing on a Friday night under the lights at Clifton Lane; I’m not sure what to expect to be honest. I think playing under the lights brings excitement and edge and it’s going to be a new experience for us all and let’s see how we go.”

Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Jackson Barling, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola, 11 Ben Cambriani, 10 Russell Bennett (c/c), 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Zac Nearchou, 2 Morgan Veness, 3 Corrie Barrett, 4 Curran Maguire, 5 John Okafor, 6 Lekima Ravuvu, 7 Travis Gordon (c/c), 8 Callum Bustin.

Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Andrew Foster, 18 Tom Bairstow, 19 Louis Guthrie, 20 Harry Stone, 21 Jack Baldry, 22 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 23 Tom Threlfall.

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