Seasoned Burnell brought in to rescue Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans have appointed Justin Burnell as head coach (Picture: Glenn Ashley)

Burnell brings a wealth of experience to Clifton Lane, having coached the Wales Under-19s to a Six Nations age-group grand slam a decade ago, Cardiff Blues to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and London Welsh to promotion to the Premiership in 2013.

His task in the immediate future may not be as grand but is arguably just as important, namely to prevent Rotherham from slipping out of the Championship and into part-time rugby.

A run of 10 straight defeats, seven of them in the league, has seen the Titans – fourth in each of the last two seasons – slip to third-bottom in the Greene King IPA Championship and just seven points above the one and only relegation place.

It was that sequence of results that prompted the Titans board to replace novice coach Jones with the 48-year-old Burnell, whose initial deal will run until the summer.

Burnell’s first game in charge will be the British and Irish Cup dead rubber against Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday.

He said: “Rotherham is a hotbed of talent and hopefully that will continue for many years to come.

“I know that Rotherham has a very passionate set of supporters and they’re going to have a massive impact on our remaining home games in the Championship; none more so than our next league game here against Bedford.

“We have six huge league games remaining and our big focus is to ensure we maintain our Championship status. What we have to do as management and players is ensure there are no banana skins along the way.”