Christmas time-out welcomed by in-form Rotherham Titans

Titans signed off 2018 with five straight wins in National One, capped by Saturday’s 25-13 defeat of Darlington Mowden Park at Clifton Lane.

The next game isn’t until January 5, away to Rosslyn Park, but after an intense second half of the year that involved dealing with relegation, constructing a new team and then working to turn it into a fighting force, Barker, the staff and the players are happy for a break.

“It’s come at the right time for us,” he said. “The lads have some time now to chill out with their families. We’ve had a pretty ruthless seven weeks and before that we had only a week off and before that we had a 20-week slog from pre-season to ten games straight. The players need this break to get away from it and then we can come back firing for the last 14 games.”

Titans will also use the time to get injured players back to full fitness, with eight to ten players in the treatment room.

Saturday’s victory, spurred by two tries from wing Dan Leake, keeps Rotherham fifth in National One, just four points off top spot after Blackheath did the rest of the promotion-chasing pack a favour by beating leaders Old Elthamians 12-11.

“We weren’t at our best against Darlington but we got the win,” added Barker. “The win keeps us top five and in contention with the top boys.”

The match was preceded by a minute’s silence in tribute to the club’s former doctor, Naomi Rubin, who sadly passed away recently.