By BrianC
October 22 2003

Next Sunday sees us at home to Rotherham Titans, a game which we must have down in our books as a banker. Rotherham, newly promoted last season have struggled thus far in the ZP. They have lost all of their first six matches, failing to pick up even a bonus point in one of them.

London Irish vs. Rotherham Titans

Sunday 26th October, Madejski Stadium, K.O. 3pm.

Not all of Rotherham's performances this season have been dire. Their first match of the season was a creditable 22 - 8 defeat away at Gloucester.  In this game they were still very much in touch at half time, only 9 - 8 down, so much so that an upset appeared to be a possibility. Of their subsequent performances a defeat by ten points in the Yorkshire derby game at Leeds is the only one from which they can draw comfort. In all the other four they have lost heavily, conceding a try bonus in each game.

Last season we met  Rotherham at home in the quarter final of the Powergen Cup running out 30 - 11 victors at the Madejski in January. That we subsequently went on to lose the next four games, including being thrashed 38 - 9 in the semi against Northampton puts this victory in context. We were at a low ebb at that stage last season and still managed a comfortable victory over them.

Those supporters of London Irish whose memories stretch back further will remember the fact that we saved ourselves from relegation in the 1997/98 season after home and away play-offs against Rotherham, us having finished second from bottom in the league. Away we won 16 - 13 and at Sunbury we ran out 26 - 14 winners, an aggregate of 42 - 27. The previous season we had also saved our league one status after winning play-offs against Coventry. Having poor seasons such as that we had last is nothing new in the London Irish experience.

The last time Rotherham were in the Zurich Premiership in the 2001/2 season. That year they managed to amass a total of twelve points, winning only two games, one of which was over us. In that season the eleventh placed team were Quins who notched up 38 points. It does very much seem this season that history is about to repeat itself and that whichever team comes eleventh they will not be concerned about relegation. The gulf between the Premiership and National Division One appears if anything to be growing.

Given our bright start to the season and Rotherham's poor one, plus the fact that we have home advantage, I would expect us to run out comfortable victors this weekend. A bonus point may well be there for the taking but I am not counting any chickens. When Rotherham beat us 19 - 18 at Clifton Lane in September 2000 I recall someone posting on the MB at that time, "This was not how I expected to get a bonus point from this game".