Rotherham Titans start the New Year with a home fixture when they entertain Clifton Rugby in round 15 of National 1; kick-off on Saturday at Clifton Lane is 2pm.
This will Clifton’s first visit to the Titans, although the teams did meet earlier in the season at Station Road when the newly promoted Bristol based outfit were still adjusting to the higher level of National 1.
Following the 2-week Christmas break both teams should be well-rested and eager to get back to playing some hard, competitive rugby.
Rotherham will go into the game on the back of a disappointing 19-18 loss to Leeds Tykes and although the South Yorkshire side did have opportunities to win the game, on the day they weren’t able to take them.
Following their promotion into National 1, after lifting the National 2 West title last season, Clifton had a challenging start to life at the higher level, winning just one of their opening seven games.
However, they have settled down nicely since, winning four of their next seven with the real stand-out result being a 37-29 win over Rosslyn Park!
Clifton are also more than decent travellers, they’ve collected away wins against Sedgley Park, Leicester Lions and Dings Crusaders showing they can’t be underestimated away from home, and they’ll be looking to maintain their fine away form against Rotherham.
When the teams met back in September the Titans ran out 40-15 victors, where a brace of tries for Jackson Barling and Isaac Shaw, combined with one for Morgan Veness and a penalty try saw the South Yorkshire side home.
However, the game was highly competitive with Clifton making Rotherham graft hard for the spoils and it’s clear to see since that game Clifton have found their feet in National 1.
Going into the match Titans have made four changes to their starting XV, with one in the backs and three in the forwards.
In the front row hooker Morgan Veness comes in for Luke Cole and he’ll be flanked by Alastair Donkor at loosehead prop with Andrew Foster at tighthead.
In second row Frankie Gascoigne links-up with Harry Gilson-Fox who returns from injury meaning John Okafor moves into the back row at blindside for the injured Ellis Thomas with skipper Harry Newborn on the openside and Jack Baldry at number 8 for the injured Callum Bustin.
The backline sees scrum half JB Bruzulier and fly half Rob Povey continue in the half back positions.
Lloyd Hayes and Travis Gordon maintain their partnership in midfield.
Whilst across the back three Mitchell Lacey-Babalola comes in for Jackson Barling on one wing, with Luckas Sableman-Blue on the other and Isaac Shaw at full back.
Looking ahead to the game Titans Harvey Biljon said:
“We are now focusing on 2026 and not on 2025 but briefly looking back at the first half of the season, and you have to put it into context. We’ve gone away to Plymouth and lost by 1 point; we’ve gone away to Leeds and lost by 1 point. Don’t let the table dictate what you think the score outcomes are going to be, because every game is going to be tough.
“Give credit to Leeds; I think the loan players they brought in made a marked difference to their team, especially in the second row and the back three. I’ve always said sometimes you need the bounce of the ball; you need a referee decision; you need something and unfortunately against Leeds we didn’t get any of those decisions. We probably missed a couple of moments ourselves, but the great thing is that was 2025.
“People are starting to look at end outcomes and it’s a tricky space to be, but what encourages me about this group of players is we are about what’s going on this week.
“We have Clifton in front of us; we know there’s going to be a bit of adversity, we know training is going to be difficult because of frozen pitches and our preparation is not going to be perfect. However, what is encouraging is we get to kick off the New Year at home in front of our supporters at Clifton Lane.
“We played Clifton at the start of the season at their place, and it was a really tough game. We played really well in parts, and this is what we talk about when a game can swing either way on moments, and we had a couple of moments that went our way in that game which allowed us to take the game away.
“I think with Clifton coming here they’re getting settled and establishing themselves in the league. I think they’ve got players in their squad that will be coming back to Clifton Lane in James McKinney and Will Owen and I’m sure they’ll get a warm welcome from everyone at the club.
“Looking at Clifton, it’s definitely going to be a challenge; they have an awkward forward pack that is abrasive and they’ve clearly got threats across their backline with two players we’ve already mentioned, and we know it’s going to be helluva game.
“We took a decision early to give the players 2 weeks off over Christmas and the New Year and they deserved that with the amount they’d put in during the first half of the season. Our plan was to have three sessions this week, just to blow out the cobwebs and then actually start our preparation. That’s obviously been turned on its head; we only had one walk through session.
“The players have done some individual work in the gym, but it’s not like normal preparation for a game with ball in hand and just getting yourself focussed and ready. So, we know we’re going to be rusty anyway because of the two-week break, but it is what it is, and we don’t look for excuses.
“I think there was a fair few supporters disappointed after the Leeds game, it not the Christmas anyone wanted to give them, but it’s a long season with a long way to go and let’s make sure we are not looking backwards, but we are looking at what’s ahead of us.”
Titans: 15 Isaac Shaw, 14 Luckas Sableman-Blue, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Travis Gordon, 11 Mitchell Lacey-Babalola, 10 Rob Povey, 9 JB Bruzulier, 1 Alastair Donkor, 2 Morgan Veness, 3 Andrew Foster, 4 Frankie Gascoigne, 5 Harry Gilson-Fox, 6 John Okafor, 7 Harry Newborn (Capt.), 8 Jack Baldry.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cole, 17 Zach Toerien, 18 Xavier Valentine, 19 Curran Maguire, 20 Sinjin Broad.
