'Quick turnaround' - 'Reality check' for Rotherham Titans but next Champ Rugby test already being tackled head on
WITHIN minutes of suffering their first home defeat at Clifton Lane in over two years, Rotherham Titans were looking ahead to what comes next.
Harvey Biljon, their meticulous director of rugby would not have it any other way, but they are quickly finding that life in Champ Rugby waits for no one: full-time squads like Cornish Pirates that beat them 40-21 are given the same treatment as part-time operations like Rotherham’s who are back in action five days later.
Having concluded round six at home to Cornish on Sunday, Titans open round seven on the road at Nottingham on Friday night.
“I think very quickly, the first thing we spoke about on the sign-off, and I know you'll laugh at this,” smiled Biljon, “but we said, we've got a quick turnaround to play Nottingham on a Friday night.
“So, what do we need to do Tuesday to be ready on Friday?”
It was a message reinforced by his club captain, Travis Gordon, the openside flanker.
“We’ll reset quickly because it’s a short turnaround, we’ll review and go again,” said the South African as the floodlights were turning off at Clifton Lane on Sunday evening.
“Really excited for Nottingham, it’ll be my first time playing there.
“So we need to focus on recovering properly and going again.”
Having made such a strong start to life back in the second tier - winning four of their five games and only coming a cropper against rampant favourites Worcester Warriors - Rotherham were given a lesson in the standards expected by seasoned Champ operatives Cornish.
“Obviously disappointing not to get the result today, it just came down to key moments which we’ll go and review during the week,” said Gordon.
“There were errors, individual and team, that we’ve just got to look at and review.
“The Champ just shows that every team is really good and you’ve got to be at your best every day to get a win.”
Gordon has played a huge part in Rotherham’s return to relevance, joining in the summer they began life in National One. He has seen many teams dispatched from a windswept Clifton Lane since Bishop’s Stortford were the last to leave with a win way back on October 19, 2024. But instead of reflecting on that proud record, his thoughts were only of what lies ahead.
“It’s gutting, but records are there to be broken,” he offered.
“We’ll look past it because it’s such a short turnaround.”