Rotherham Titans 44 Bristol 6: New dawn beckons as Titans lay down marker

In outplaying and out-fighting Bristol in a four-try demolition, Rotherham stretched their unbeaten run to six games, a sequence which includes three victories against teams at the top of the table.

On this evidence, it will not be long before Rotherham will be the team to beat.

While promotion is never earned this early in the season, reputations can be forged and markers laid.

Rotherham are doing both. The noises coming out of Clifton Lane following this famous win over one of the great names of English rugby suggest that if this run were to continue and take them to the verge of promotion, the club will be equipped to satisfy the strict Premiership criteria and return to the top flight.

Behind the scenes a board that has never been flush with cash has been working on a move either to Millmoor or Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium to meet the governing body regulations that Clifton Lane falls short of.

Such a move may negate one of the club’s great strengths, for no team relishes the prospect of facing Andre Bester’s men at the compact ground on the tops of Rotherham.

But if a momentous win such as this does not inspire thoughts of grandeur, then nothing will.

“You look at every opportunity and every eventuality of what might happen, and we are examining a number of options,” explained Titans director Alan McHale.

“If we are in the Championship or if things go our way and we are fighting in the play-offs then we will have an option that will meet the requirements.

“March 31 is the deadline to notify the governing bodies but the process starts before then. We received a questionnaire to fill in for Premiership criteria, and there’ll be a number of clubs looking at that and we are no exception.

“There’s no decision made yet, but both stadiums are viable.

“Everything’s positive at the minute. We have a good home record, we thrive on it, we know from the players we have recruited that not many like to come here on opposing sides.

“Clifton Lane is our spiritual home, we don’t want to move but we are restricted with what we can do with the facilities.”

The positive vibes were contagious for all but one man – Bester. After masterminding one of the great results in the club’s history – one built on the dependable kicking of Garry Law and their superior mental and physical fitness – the head coach was reserved and refused to get too far ahead of himself.

The time to hit form for him is March, April and the play-offs, and he knows his squad is too thin to absorb injuries to his many gamebreakers that could precipitate an unravelling of their season.

But he is confident in the support of the board that if Rotherham can carry this on, they can push on.

Bester said: “My condition when I took the job was that if Rotherham win the play-offs or anything in that regard then we will have the facilities and infrastructure to go up in the Premiership.

“They accepted that condition and I trust them.

“We are very far off, but that is their job, my job is to make sure the players perform on the pitch.

“We’ve got a very long way to go. This result is insignificant. There’s still so many errors in this team and we need to sort that out.

“It’s five points and that’s it. The positive is no big injuries coming out of the game.”

Bester sets exacting standards, but one hopes he gave every one of his players a huge pat on the back in the privacy of the dressing room.

They were immense, taking the reputation of the league leaders and booting it into touch.

Dead-eye Law kicked 24 points but it was their ability to turn the slightest positive into a massive advantage that won the day.

After Law had out-kicked Matty James four penalties to two in the first half-hour, Rotherham dug deep on their own line and narrowly avoided the concession of a penalty try to quickly alleviate the pressure and set up Palepoi Nonu for the game’s first try.

Once James – kicking with the wind – missed a close-range penalty straight after the resumption, Bristol heads dropped, and the Titans seized the initiative.

Led by captain Sam Dickinson and their wrecking ball No 8 Semisi Taulava, Rotherham began to wear down Bristol in the pack before exploiting gaps to run in three splendid tries.

The first came from flanker Robin Copeland, who was man of the match by a country mile despite each one of his team-mates finding an extra gear as well.

He picked up a loose ball inside his own half, ran across the line then cut an unstoppable trajectory to the try-line.

Winger Shane Monahan sealed the bonus point with two late tries, the first after good work by the pack in turning a scrum and James Williams in fashioning the space; the second a burst of 60 metres down the left flank.

Irishman Copeland, in a slight deviation from Bester’s script, laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the Championship by saying: “We can win this league. If people don’t believe that now, that’s their own fault.”

People are beginning to believe in Rotherham. There may be harsh truths out there – the long road ahead that is still to be negotiated, the nagging feeling that falling short this season would mean the likes of Copeland and Taulava will be poached by bigger clubs, and Cornish Pirates, the promotion favourites, await next week.

But for now, Rotherham Titans have a famous win to reflect on and the promise of a new dawn.

Rotherham Titans: Foden, Tellwright, Hamilton, Nonu, Monahan, Law, Williams; Kilbane, Baines, O’Donnell (Hooper 60), Dickinson (Maddison 72), Griffiths, Copeland, Dougall, Taulava. Unused replacements: Stagg, Cahill, Kirwan, Rhodes, Hodgson.

Bristol: Marsden, Watkins, Tovey, Fatialofa, Goodridge, James (Davies 69), Slater (Silver 62); Crompton, Johnston (Lawrence 62), Hobson (Thomspon 49), Sambucetti, Barry (Winters 73), Ovens (Mama 56) Merriman, Grieve. Unused replacement: Irish.

Referee: T Hall (RFU).