Rotherham Titans go on the road this weekend for one of the toughest tests of the season, when they take on Plymouth Albion in round 11 of National 1; kick-off at Brickfields on Saturday is 3pm.
Hot on the heels of last week’s top-of-the-table clash Rotherham face another against third placed Albion, as the leading club’s battle for position, as we near the halfway stage of the campaign.
Titans will go into the game on the back of an extremely tough but deserved 24-19 win over Blackheath on wet surface at Clifton Lane.
Rotherham showed a huge amount character and resolve to beat the Londoners, with their defence put under extreme stress at times, particularly towards the end of the match when Club were pressing for a score-levelling try.
Nevertheless, Rotherham’s defence held firm and with Rosslyn Park losing at Clifton, the South Yorkshire side returned to the top of the table.
Plymouth Albion will also go into the game on the back of an impressive result; their 34-15 bonus-point win over Rams certainly stood out; not many teams go to Old Bath Road and deny the hosts any points.
Albion have had other eye-catching results this term; big wins over Leeds, Clifton and Dings have demonstrated their ability to score tries and their home form has been outstanding; they are unbeaten at Brickfields with no team coming within 15 points of them.
So, Rotherham are under no illusions of what to expect when they arrive in Devon, particularly as they haven’t beaten Plymouth at home in 13 years.
Titans last win at Plymouth came back in the Championship in 2013, when on that occasion they ran out 28-17 winners with tries from Jack Roberts, Jack Preece and Michael Keating, with points added from the tee by Juan Pablo Socino and Joel Hodgson.
The overall head-to-head as you would imagine is close; of the 32 league games contested Rotherham hold a narrow 17-14 advantage with one draw. However, recent form has seen Albion win five of the last seven games.
Going into the match Rotherham have made 4 changes to their starting XV, all of which come in the forwards.
In the front row hooker Luke Cole comes in for Morgan Veness and he’ll be flanked by Alastair Donkor at loosehead prop and Xavier Valentine who comes in for Andrew Foster at tighthead.
The second row sees Frankie Gascoigne link-up with Harry Gilson-Fox who comes in for Cory Teague, whilst in the back row, alongside John Okafor at blindside, skipper Harry Newborn returns for Jack Baldry on the openside with Ellis Thomas at number 8.
The backline is unchanged with JB Bruzulier and Lloyd Hayes forming the half back pairing, whilst in midfield Travis Gordon is joined again by Mitchell Lacey-Babalola.
The back three sees Sinjin Broad on one wing with Jackson Barling on the other and Isaac Shaw at full back.
Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Jackson Barling, 13 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola, 12 Travis Gordon, 11 Sinjin Broad, 10 Lloyd Hayes, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Alastair Donkor, 2 Luke Cole, 3 Xavier Valentine, 4 Frankie Gascoigne, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Capt.), 8 Ellis Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Morgan Veness, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Jack Baldry, 20 Curran Maguire.
