'Huge effort' - Harvey Biljon hails Rotherham Titans as they climb into Champ Rugby's top four
Rotherham Titans director of rugby Harvey Biljon declared himself “really pleased” after a first away win of the season saw the Clifton Laners climb to fourth in the Champ Rugby table.
Titans defeated bottom-markers Richmond 29-14 on Sunday and crucially outscored their opponents by five tries to two, to claim their first attacking bonus point of the campaign.
It means that heading into the first free weekend of the new season, the team that won National One last season to claim a second promotion in three years trail only big-hitting professional outfits Worcester Warriors, Ealing Trailfinders and Coventry in the second tier.
After the win over in south west London in front of the Blaze TV cameras, Biljon praised his side’s resilience.
“I think what people do not always see is the disruption behind the scenes,” he said.
“We had to make two late changes this morning, but we could still come down here and get a result.
“That is a huge effort from the players considering the early start we had this morning and then playing a game at 4 o’clock. But the effort that those guys have put in, they can be really proud of that performance.
“We are really pleased with how things have gone. You could see the emotion from Richmond, and they worked so hard to keep us out, but for us to get the scores we did and to get five tries was outstanding.”
The sides traded early tries, Kima Ravuvu going over for the Titans – Lloyd Hayes converting – before Will Goffey replied on nine minutes.
But newly-promoted Rotherham took control with three further touchdowns – Russell Bennett (28), John Okafor (37) and Ben Cambriani (40) – to lead 22-7 at half-time.
It took until the 68th minute for the next points on the board, Dewald Kotze crossing for a Titans try – converted by Bennett.
Tom Riman’s try – Callum Grieve adding his second conversion of the afternoon – cut the deficit for the hosts, but Rotherham were not to be denied.
Rotherham return to action next Sunday, November 1, when sixth-placed Cornish Pirates are the visitors, the first time the TV cameras will have been to Clifton Lane for a live broadcast.