By Roth Admin
May 19 2005

The latest Club news has been provided courtesy of Michael Temple at Rotherham Titans. The article by Michael confirms Jim Kilfoyle’s acceptance of a new role within the club and announces a 2nd pre-season friendly. NEW ROLE FOR KILFOYLE

Rotherham Titans Rugby Manager Jim Kilfoyle will begin next season in a new role after accepting the Assistant Coach post following Andy Northey’s departure to Sedgley Park.

The former Wakefield and Yorkshire Coach has held a management position at Clifton Lane for the past two seasons but was pleased to accept Head Coach Andre Bester’s offer of a front-line coaching job.

“I haven’t had the tracksuit on for a while now and it’s something that I have really missed. We all see the game differently and being in a management role gives you less of a chance to put your ideas forwards,” said Kilfoyle.

“Everyone has expectations and after what we have achieved this season, we will be expected to do better next season. What motivates players, coaches and supporters is a hatred of losing and that is a culture that I want to develop. We need to develop an intolerance of it and an intolerance of each other if anyone contributes towards defeat. That is how you create a togetherness and when that is in place, winning is a simpler objective.”

In Andy Northey, Mike Schmid, Mike Umaga, Ross Reynolds, Geoff Wappett and Steph Nel, Kilfoyle has seen six Head Coaches leave the club since 2003 but he is confident that his partnership with Andre Bester will prosper.

He said: “Me and Andre have different types of experience but there are similarities between us. Andre insists on adherence to the basics and if that is done collectively with speed and consistency then it is the most effective way of playing the game.

“Everybody in the coaching game has the same target at the start of the season and that is to avoid relegation and the team that does that the quickest has the best chance of becoming Champions. That’s not a negative way of thinking; the point of that philosophy is to install the importance of defence in the mind of the players. When that’s in place you can chase the Championship. Last season was the lowest I have ever finished in this league in any capacity but it won’t happen again.”

The new Coaching duo have been working hard to assemble a squad capable of achieving success next season and hope to announce a full roster in the next few weeks. Kilfoyle said that when recruitment is complete, the next step will be to generate a spirit to catapult the Titans upwards:

“There are a lot of new faces coming in and it is a collective responsibility for us to gel together as quickly as possible. This is my twentieth year in Rugby Coaching but I still have targets and ambitions within the game. I want to be involved in getting this club to the Premiership and keeping it there.”

TITANS TO FACE GLASGOW

The Titans have secured a second friendly against top class opposition after agreeing an away trip to Glasgow on Saturday August 20th (Kick-Off 7.30pm).

Chief Executive Andre Bester hopes to confirm details of a home friendly soon having already announced that his squad will face Ulster in Belfast on Friday August 26th.