Depleted Rotherham Titans front up for Blackheath test

Wasps loan man Zac Nearchou has been called up by England U20s for a November training camp and will miss the trip to the capital. Fellow pack men Harry Whitfield, Harry Newborn and Reece Ward are already out injured, as are long-term absentees Rikki Stout and summer signing Ianto Jones.

Co-coach Anthony Posa said: "We are going through a bad phase now with injuries in one position and it is a key position.

"I've said to my backs, rather than push the blame on the forwards, let's see what we can do with that we've got and give it a shot.

"We need to get through this period. What we are focussing on now is making sure we fight for every scrap."

Titans started the campaign with hopes of challenging near the top so the slide to third from bottom of the table, 11 points shy of the safety line, has been swift and surprising. 

Added Posa: “I think it is more a case, with the way results are going, to focus on what we're doing good because it is an easy trap to fall into to be self critical and think it is all doom and gloom.

Zac Nearchou

"We just have to get the spirits up and keep fighting. At the moment the little things we are getting wrong are magnified because of the fact that we are going backwards in the set piece. We are doing everything to rectify that because at this level you need a solid platform to work off and go forward and you don't need to be an expert to realise that. It would make things a lot easier and that's what we’ve focussed on this week."

Blackheath sit fourth in the table. Kick-off is 2pm.

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