Round 19 of National 1 will see Rotherham Titans travel to East Hertfordshire on Saturday where they’ll take on Bishop’s Stortford at Silver Leys; kick-off is 3pm.
Titans will go into the game on the back of a hard fought, but well-deserved 24-7 win over Leicester Lions at Clifton Lane, where tries from Lloyd Hayes, Travis Gordon and Jack Bergmanas secured the result.
However, Bishop’s Stortford will come into the game on the back of an impressive, eye-catching 34-25 bonus point win away at Rams.
Stortford’s win over Rams shows that on any given day, any team can beat any team in this division and the result will not have gone unnoticed at Clifton Lane.
So, when Titans visit the historic market town they’ll be fully focused on the job in hand, particularly as having lost to Bishop’s earlier in the season at home, they know what a tough task they’ll face.
Indeed, of the five previous meetings between the sides, all in National 1, it’s Bishop’s Stortford who hold a 3-2 lead; additionally, and perhaps more significantly, they’ve won on the last 3 occasions the clubs have met.
Going into this week’s match Rotherham have made six 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 who comes in for Zach Toerien at loosehead and Andrew Foster who comes in for Eoin Harrison at tighthead.
The second row sees Curran Maguire come in for Harry Gilson-Fox and he’ll partner skipper Zak Poole.
The sole change in the back row sees Ellis Thomas come in on the openside as Travis Gordon moves into the backline, with John Okafor at blindside and Callum Bustin at number 8.
Due to squad injuries the backline has seen several changes and although there is only one change in personnel, there’s only one player playing in the same position.
In the half backs JB Bruzulier returns at scrum half and he’ll accompany Lloyd Hayes who will wear the number 10 shirt for the first time this season.
A new combination in midfield sees Travis Gordon come in for the injured Jamie Cooke at inside centre with Tomasi Tanumi alongside him having switched from the wing.
The back three sees Ronnie Du Randt on one wing from full back, with Calum Barrett maintaining his spot on the other wing and Jack Townend returns to full back having covered fly half last time out.
For supporters unable to make the trip, the match will be live streamed in the clubhouse, the bar is open at 2pm.
Titans: 15 Jack Townend, 14 Calum Barrett, 13 Tomasi Tanumi, 12 Travis Gordon, 11 Ronnie Du Randt, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Charlie Capps ©, 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Andrew Foster, 4 Zak Poole ©, 5 Curran Maguire, 6 John Okafor, 7 Ellis Thomas, 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Rikki Stout, 19 Harry Newborn, 20 James Naylor.
