Gritty first win at Rams pleases Rotherham Titans chief Harvey Biljon
ROTHERHAM Titans team chief Harvey Biljon praised the resilience of his players as they rode a second-half comeback to win at Rams for the very first time.
Titans held off a resurgent the home side to prevail 35-31 in Reading and the victory came with a four-try bonus point that keeps them top of National One.
"Rams is a difficult place to go and win,” Biljon told the Advertiser. "They have been a front-running contender for the championship for the last few years.
“It was a very impressive first half from us and what struck me after that was the resilience. We had a lot going on with people playing out of position etc and so the fact they could problem solve and show the composure to weather the pressure and turn out a victory was pleasing.
"There is always areas you can improve but on the whole I was impressed with a five-point win away from home.”
Travis Gordon, John Okafor, Jackson Barling and Lloyd Hayes all crossed the whitewash as Titans opened a 29-12 lead by half time.
Although Hayes was sin-binned in the second half and Rams ran in three tries to set up a tense finish, Hayes’ total of 12 points from the tee and a three-pointer from returning no.10 Rob Povey helped see Rotherham home.
"Rob stepped up and you could see we had some really good direction in that space, which was great,” added Biljon.
"We also had Callum Bustin back in the team. Let’s be honest, he hasn’t played at all really this season but having been out for so long, and considering the fact we had Curran Maguire and Ellis Thomas all out, he stepped up and really tested his lungs for as long as he could.”
Titans make a long-awaited return to action at Clifton Lane on Saturday against mid-table Sedgley Park (2pm).