Sheffield Tigers hope to have turned season around as Leeds Tykes and Rotherham Titans face big challenges

Tigers have endured a frustrating start to the campaign, losing their first seven games, including back-to-back losses by a single point.

However, they managed to get over the line against Harrogate in their last game two weeks ago, winning 34-33, a result that breeds confidence they will look to take into today’s visit of Tynedale.

Their director of rugby is Jack Howieson, who played rugby league for the Sheffield Eagles to a level good enough to see him inducted into their hall of fame.

After the pandemic, he converted to union to take on the position of director of rugby at Sheffield Tigers.

The first team have seen a rise in their final position every season since he took the job, rising from ninth place in his first year to seventh last time around.

The unfortunate start to this season, though, sees the Sheffield Tigers first XV sat second from bottom in the National League 2 North.

Howieson said: “It’s been a bit of a struggle if I’m honest…the start to this season hasn’t gone to plan.

“I think we’ve been in the game up to 70 minutes in every game we’ve played, apart from one where we got thrashed by Chester.

"I’d say there’s been some bad luck, but we definitely haven’t played as well as we’d have liked to.”

Four of the eight fixtures have finished with, or less than, a seven-point gap, meaning the table doesn’t quite tell the full story.

The first win of the season came on the last game week against Harrogate, when they squeezed home by one point.

“That game could’ve gone either way,” admitted Howieson. “We played some good stuff and scored some good tries but then played some terrible stuff and let some easy tries in.”

Two other fixtures involving the Tigers have been decided by a single point, however this was the first time that Sheffield have come out on top.

November presents a block of fixtures that could see Sheffield Tigers rise away from the relegation battle, starting on Saturday against bottom-of-the-league Tynedale.

Yorkshire derbies against mid-table Otley and a struggling Hull are also on the horizon.

Howieson and the club have identified this as a strong opportunity to turn fortunes around.

“At home we’ll back ourselves to put a performance in and try and win that one. I mean if we do that one then two in a row will be good for confidence,” he said.

“I’m still confident in the squad that we’ve got that we can beat the teams we’ve just got to make sure we get on the winning side of the score.”

He still believes in the players, who will also surely be wanting to prove themselves in these fixtures.

“If we can pick up two or three more wins in the next five or six games then I think we’re looking at a much better position,” he said.

“I do know we’ve got a good enough squad to not get relegated…”

Across the city there is a big Yorkshire derby between third-placed Sheffield who have lost just once all season, and Wharfedale, while the game of the day sees the top two go into battle with their unbeaten records on the line, as Leeds Tykes visit Lymm.

Up in National One, Rotherham Titans continue their pursuit of the top two at home to Plymouth Albion.

A long-established rivalry in the second tier, the two old foes meet with just six points, but five positions separating them at the third level.