Rotherham Titans hoping crowd can provide '16th man' for biggest game of the season
ROTHERHAM Titans want supporters to be their “16th man” in their biggest game of the season this weekend.
The Titans, top of National One, take on second-placed Plymouth Albion at Clifton Lane tomorrow with only a point separating the two in the race to win a place in the Championship.
The victors will be in the box seat for the one and only automatic promotion spot while the losers will be edged closer to a one-off play-off against the Champ’s second bottom club.
Thanks in no small measure to the tight confines of the ground and their vocal home support, Rotherham are a formidable home team and have lost only once at the Lane in two years.
That home advantage will be even more important as they look to recover from last week’s defeat at third-placed Blackheath.
"This is a huge game. No matter what, it was always going to be a big game,” team chief Harvey Biljon told the Advertiser.
"We need a 16th man (in terms of crowd support) and that is not a cliche, it’s real. We saw that on Saturday at Blackheath so let’s see that now for Rotherham.”
Titans were playing in National Two North when Biljon arrived in South Yorkshire in 2023.
The former Championship winner with Jersey Reds has driven up standards on and off the field, won a promotion and pushed the club towards a return to English rugby’s second tier for the first time in eight years.
"If you look at the sport going on around the town, Rotherham Titans is a real positive feelgood story,” said the South African coach.
"Look at what we’ve done the last two years.
"The more people get behind us, the more we’ll continue to add to that.
"There’s so much good going at the club off the field with the work in the community and all the other bits and pieces.”
In the meantime Biljon is all too aware of the lingering threat of Blackeath.
The Londoners have beaten Plymouth and Rotherham on successive Saturdays to propel themselves into the automatic promotion picture.
They’re now just five points off top spot and could go second should they win away to Sedgley Park on Saturday.
"What an exciting campaign to be part of. There’s so much to play for,” added Biljon.
"We know how tight it is and we know how tough it is.
"I still feel like ourselves, Blackheath and Plymouth may lose a game before the end of the season and I also believe this will go right down to the wire.
"The supporters will be excited and they’ll get behind the team and we’d love to see them there in numbers for this one.”
Kick-off is 2pm.