Benson explains his forward thinking

ROUGHYEDS coach Tony Benson has explained why he chose the front row combinations he did in the Featherstone game.

With a host of options available to him in the squad’s best-stocked position, Benson began the Northern Rail Cup quarter-final tie at Leigh with a starting prop duo of Jason Boults and Richard Mervill, with Craig Robinson and Paul Highton stepping off the replacements’ bench.

That left explosive duo Wayne Kerr and Jamie I’Anson out of the picture, but the Oldham coach said that this decision was simply a product of the conditions he expected to be faced with against a top-notch Championship side in Featherstone.

“We knew it would be a fast game, with the combination of it taking place in good conditions on a good quality pitch at night and on television,” said Benson.

“So it proved, as it was probably the fastest game we have played in this year.

“Jamie I’Anson would normally play for around 10 to 15 minutes in a normal game and Wayne Kerr for less, so if they had played it would have meant the other forwards would have had to cover by doing a lot more each and that wouldn’t have been practical in those conditions.

“Their fitness can improve and we are looking to do that.

“We know that what Jamie does in 10 minutes is of high quality and he is one of our better props, but we just couldn’t afford it in a game like this.”

As Benson had predicted in the run-up to the game, Featherstone’s strength around the ruck proved to be a decisive factor in their 32-18 win, as they regularly turned Oldham men on their backs in the tackle to slow down the pace of the play-the-ball.

The Roughyeds coach claimed that such methods were on the very edge of the laws of the game, but referee Gareth Hewer rarely pulled Rovers up.

“If we had known that you can play the game like that, we would have trained to have done so,” added Benson.

“But had we worked on it for weeks and a referee suddenly turned on us, we would be very upset, so we need to know where we stand.”