Rotherham Titans have announced the appointment of Justin Burnell as their new Head Coach.
Burnell will take over with immediate effect replacing former Wales international Mark Jones who left the position yesterday.
The 48-year-old arrives at the Titans 11 months after being sacked by London Welsh on the back of 17 consecutive defeats.
He said, “I am excited to be joining a club like Rotherham; it reminds me very much of the Welsh ethos and of Pontypridd Rugby Club. I met some of the VP’s and volunteers this morning and the warmth they showed was very encouraging and appreciated.
“I think this is a great opportunity for me and my family, especially with the Yorkshire family connections that we’ve already got here and I’ve always had a bit of an admiration for Rotherham.
“I’m still very close to Carl Kirwan who we signed when I was at London Welsh and Robin Copeland who I worked with when I was at the Cardiff Blues.
“Also during my time in the Championship I had the utmost respect for Lee Blackett who was another brilliant coach coming out of the Championship, who is now doing an absolutely fantastic job at Wasps. So I know 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 a management and as a group of players is ensure there are no banana skins along the way.”