Rotherham Titans chief asks for clarity on Champ Rugby laws as he calls for discipline at struggling Nottingham

Director of rugby Harvey Biljon has sought clarity from the referees office over three key decisions he felt swung the Champ Rugby game in Cornish Pirates’ favour on Sunday.

And he now wants his Titans players to maintain their own discipline when they visit Nottingham tonight, to avoid allowing the seasoned second-tier operators to get their own stuttering campaign off the ground.

Biljon’s curiosity in the Cornish game was piqued by a passage of play on the stroke of half-time that started with Callum Bustin being held up and denied a try that could have levelled the scores, before Pirates went up the other end and crossed to take a 21-7 lead into the break.

“I'm waiting for the feedback from the referees,” confirmed Biljon. “Everyone understands what a big moment it was.

“There were three piggyback decisions before half-time that really have a bigger influence on the game. And the referee, straight after the game, he apologised to me.

“Firstly, the referee blows for not straightening the line-out. In the new laws, there is no not-straight (throw) anymore if there's no compete (from the players).

“So all we had to do was catch the ball, kick it off the field, which we did, but he said, no, go to scrum. Then the scrum was a reset. It was a penalty for us or a reset at best. Then they knock it on before they go over. So 21-7 makes a big difference.”

Biljon accepts teams don’t get all decisions, but is waiting for feedback. He also accepts his team were second best on the day.

“I need to be clear, we are not looking for excuses,” he stressed.

“Our line-out should have functioned better. Some of our kicks for field position could have been better. But we only gave away six penalties. If you're putting a squad together, discipline is one of the key components.

“I think people will look at the result, but they won't look at the strides we are taking as a team.”

The challenge now is carrying that forward into Nottingham tonight, a side that has only won one game so far. “They’re in a false position,” warned Biljon.

“We know they will be targeting this next home game at Nottingham to put their season back on track.”