Biljon has ambitions to coach at top level

ROTHERHAM director of rugby Harvey Biljon believes he’s shown he has what it takes to coach at the very top level after an extraordinary last four years has seen him win three different leagues.

■By LUKE JARMYN

The former Wasps and Barbarians scrum-half has overcome both professional and personal adversity to win the Championship title with Jersey Reds before claiming the National 2 North and National 1 crowns with Rotherham.

Now back in the second-tier with Titans, the 49-year-old’s gearing up for a challenging season ahead, while remaining optimistic for the future.

Biljon told The Rugby Paper: “I’m very lucky with the project I’m in at Titans; in certain ways it resembles what I was a part of at Cornish Pirates and then Jersey Reds.

Man on a mission: Harvey Biljon with his Titans

“At Pirates we won the British & Irish Cup and got to two Premiership play-off finals before my 10 years at Jersey where we went from the bottom of the Champ to being denied promotion to the Premiership.

“I understand Tier Two, but just because you understand it and know what’s required doesn’t mean it’ll automatically happen for you.

“When you look tra- ditionally at the teams that have gone up from National 1 to the Champ, they tend to be in the bottom three. So we know it’s going to be a big challenge but an exciting one.”

While Rotherham enjoy an on-field renaissance, it comes with huge investment off-field and around £2m being pumped into the club in recent years.

This includes upgrades to their Clifton Lane ground, and for the first time since Titans started playing there in 1946 the pitch is being turned 90 degrees for the upcoming season. “We’ve very lucky having Nick Craig and Martin Jenkinson as owner and CEO, and their passion is what sold this project to me”, states Biljon. “Rotherham has a rich rugby history, but if it wasn’t for them and their commitment, I wouldn’t be flying over from Jersey every week.

“I started on a three-month consultancy, and I would be lying if it hasn’t taken some adjusting. It’s tough at times, being away from the kids but I’m not going to make a song and dance of it, it’s the sacrifices you have to make to be successful.

“In some ways I’m more used to that than most, moving over from South Africa, forcing my way into Wasps squad, I wasn’t world class but I knew what it took to get there. That’s helped when I’ve had to watch everything I worked for at

Jersey unravel and start afresh with Rotherham.”

While Biljon is excited by the opportunities ahead, he admits “concern” at the increasing schism between the ringfenced Premiership and the rest of English rugby.

“I’ve made my feelings known, it’s not good for the game, it could stifle ambition and investment at clubs like Ealing, Rotherham, Coventry. The RFU should be offering support, not shutting doors.

“I also worry it closes opportunities for coaches. I’ve been asked why am I not coaching in the Premiership, well not getting that chance with Jersey hurt as we were denied something we deserved.

“Why have I not been offered a chance elsewhere, I don’t know. Not many opportunities present themselves as clubs often promote from within, but I believe in the job I can do and the effect I can have when one does.”