Benson relief at vital victory

ROUGHYEDS coach Tony Benson was delighted to emerge from his toughest week in charge at the club with a positive result.

The 52-36 home victory over previously-unbeaten Swinton pushed Oldham above the Lions in the Co-operative Championship One and into second spot.

A remarkable points-laden game which featured 15 different try scorers wouldn’t have pleased the defensive purists, but Benson was nonetheless happy to get back on the winning trail after a performance featuring plenty of enterprise going forward.

“At half-time I was really happy that we were testing them all over the field and not just in one place,” said the Oldham coach, whose task is now to ready his team for this Saturday’s trip to the capital to face former club London Skolars.

“We were attacking all over and if we found somewhere they were weak, we were going back at it.

“We showed we have got a lot of attack right across the field and that is great.

“We looked potent out there on attack and the tries were well-worked and constructed tries, rather than being down to a lot of luck.

“It has been a tough week for all of us — the supporters and directors too — and to come out reasonably convincingly, I am relieved but also happy.”

The only fresh injury doubt to emerge from the game concerns Marcus St Hilaire, with the centre limping off the field in the second half with a hamstring injury.

Phil Joseph (hip and groin) missed the clash against Swinton, one of his former clubs, and along with St Hilaire will be assessed at training tomorrow night.

Captain Robert Roberts gave the Roughyeds a boost by returning to the side for the first time in five weeks after a rib injury and though he came off for a long spell, Benson said it was a result simply of fatigue rather than any recurrence of the problem.

“His ribs were only hurting because his lungs were coming through them,” Benson joked.

“We had to just give him a bit of a rest to freshen up and get him back out there. He said he felt much better in his second spell and is in no pain.”