Doncaster Knights help Rotherham Titans get 4G savvy ahead of great win

The Titans used the Knights’ 4G facility at Castle Park in the run-up to last Saturday’s tricky away fixture on the artificial pitch at Rosslyn Park.

And it was the work in those two training sessions which laid the foundation for a 36-26 victory, their first ever league win at The Rock.

Rotherham’s director of rugby, Harvey Biljon, told the Advertiser: "This is the first time we have trained at Doncaster and I am very grateful to Ian McGeechan (consultant DoR at Doncaster) for letting it happen.

“We were very lucky to be able to access the facility on Tuesday and Thursday and it had a big impact on our performance at the weekend.

"I think when you are going to play on a surface like that then any of the ‘one per-centers’ you gain can definitely make a difference.”

Titans lost by 30 points at Rosslyn on the final day of last season and with National One promotion points on the line this time, they didn’t want to go in cold.

Biljon explained: "If you look at our training last week, on the Tuesday we probably didn’t train to our normal standard and that was just because we were unfamiliar with the surface and the wide pitch.

"Our timing seemed to be off and things move at a different speed. Everything was taking time to get used to.

"Compare that to our training on Thursday, it was exceptional preparation going into the game at the weekend and I think we turned up there and felt confident. It didn’t take us any time to get settled into the game and we knew where we were.

“I’m not sure many people in the league would have tipped us to go to Rosslyn Park on that surface and come away with five points."

Titans play their game in hand on leaders Plymouth Albion when third-bottom Clifton come to Clifton Lane tomorrow (2pm).

A five-point win would take Rotherham into top spot, a point above Plymouth and eight above Blackheath in third, but Biljon is taking nothing for granted.

"I reiterate what I always say, we are not getting ahead of ourselves,” he said.

"We have a different challenge, not on a 4G but back at Clifton Lane against a team who need a reaction for a game not going their way last week (Clifton lost 36-19 to relegation rivals Leeds).

"We will need to go about our business have we have done so far and hopefully put on a performance for our supporters.

"Obviously, I do look at the league table but it’s fool’s gold if you look at it and get excited about where you are.

"Where you are now isn’t necessarily the standing come to the end of the season. It doesn’t automatically reflect on where your squad and your team is naturally at.”