Rotherham Titans race to get key man fit

Goodwin, who has made a solid impression in his first season in the Championship, is working hard to recover from a rib injury suffered during the defeat at London Welsh 10 days ago.

The 23-year-old from Chester has made 13 appearances in all competitions scoring two tries, 13 conversions and two penalties. If coach Justin Burnell feels that Goodwin won’t be fit enough to start against Nottingham, he may choose to start with Ross Jones who is a reliable goal kicker having kicked 91 points in 17 matches for the Titans-17 conversions, 18 penalties and a drop goal.

Burnell may also want to see how fly half Will Robinson, on loan from London Welsh, can perform so there is a chance of him making his Rotherham debut.

Titans have four games left to guarantee their Championship status, and on current form the favourites to be relegated are Moseley.

The Birmingham side, bottom of the league on 24 points-nine fewer than Rotherham in 10th place-have arguably the tougher climax to the season than the Titans.

They face Cornish Pirates, Doncaster, Bristol (second and first in the league) and London Scottish. But Rotherham’s games against Nottingham, Jersey, London Scottish and Ealing promise to be highly competitive, so no one at Clifton Lane is taking anything for granted.

Ealing (11th) have to meet London Welsh, Nottingham, Jersey and then Rotherham in the final game on April 23 and by then both clubs will be hoping they have made certain of Championship rugby next season.

Meanwhile, figures show why Rotherham have struggled this season-they’ve let in 496 points in 18 Championship matches, the third highest, but while the defence hasn’t been tight enough, they’ve scored 376 points, one fewer than Jersey who are fifth and only two behind Nottingham in sixth place.