Rotherham Titans announce team for Championship opener against London Welsh

by Matthew Wood Friday 2 September 2016

Rotherham Titans have included as many as 10 new recruits in their starting line-up for their 2016/17 Greene King IPA Championship opener game against London Welsh at Clifton Lane on Sunday.

Former Moseley centre Will Owen will captain the side on Sunday while scrum half George Tresidder, wing Jake Henry and centre Cameron Hudson are also in line for debut.

The club had a disappointing finish of 10th in the previous season, but after having a successful pre-season head coach Justin Burnell is confident of achieving success in the upcoming campaign.

"We've had a good pre-season and the boys have worked really hard; in fact it's been as tough a pre-season as I've been involved in for a few years and hopefully that will bode well for what's ahead.

"I've been very impressed with the new faces we've brought in, they've really bought-in to what we are trying to achieve and we're all now looking forward to the start of the season.

"The Championship is a tough environment and we kick-off this weekend against London Welsh, they are a side who are traditionally very strong in the division.

"They'll obviously be very disappointed with their performances in the league last year and I would imagine they've got to make a big statement this year to keep things going. But they're no different to any other side in the division and we'll give them the respect they deserve.

"However, we'll be focusing more on ourselves and on the things we want to accomplish. We have a good, young side that is eager to prove themselves at this level and they'll be eager to put in a performance.”

Titans: 15 Will Goodwin, 14 Jack Hayes, 13 Cameron Hudson, 12 Will Owen (Capt.), 11 Jake Henry, 10 Will Robinson, 9 George Tresidder, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Joe Graham, 3 Joe Rees, 4 Miles Normandale, 5 Tom Hicks, 6 Ollie Curry, 7 James Tyas, 8 Buster Lawrence.

Replacements: 16 Charlie Maddison, 17 Tom Williams, 18 Danny Herriott, 19 Jack Ramshaw, 20 Dan Grange, 21 Matt Dudman, 22 Charley Foley.