Speed test

PLENTY OF PACE: LUCAS Onyango has played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens for Kenya.

LUCAS ONYANGO reckons a few players are in for a rude awakening in Blackpool.

The Roughyeds flyer, who has extensive experience of short-handed rugby representing Kenya in the other code, predicts that the Northern Rail Nines tournament will be far more physically demanding than many expect.

Oldham start their quest for silverware with a game against Whitehaven tomorrow lunchtime (12.30pm kick-off), and Onyango reckons there will be plenty of exciting rugby on offer at the Woodlands, home of Fylde RUFC.

“It will be like a shorter, faster version of the full 13-a-side game,” said Onyango, who has played in several international sevens tournaments in union including the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong.

“It is hard as well. People have this idea that nines will be a stroll in the park and a bit of a laugh and a joke. They will be surprised — the nine minutes each way will seem longer as it is very tiring.

“When you play a full game you always have someone covering your back but not here. There is lots of space available and the game is much quicker with no messing around at the play-the-ball.

“The good thing is that there will be unlimited subs and we will need that.”

After the Whitehaven game Oldham’s players have a break until the next group match against Featherstone (3pm), and the first day concludes with a game against Workington (6pm).

The Roughyeds will hope that their squad, which includes other speedsters in Andy Ballard and Lee Greenwood, possesses enough quality to make it through to the quarter-final knockout stage of the main Trophy.

For that to happen, they will need to finish ahead of both Halifax and Sheffield in group ‘E’. That would entail a last-eight tie against the team finishing second in group ‘C’, one of London Skolars, Leigh, Gateshead and York.

If Tony Benson’s men fail to top group ‘E’, they will instead enter the Plate competition.

The finals of both the Plate (3pm) and the Trophy (3.50pm) take place at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool, prior to the final of the Northern Rail Cup between favourites Widnes and Barrow (5.15pm).




SADDLEWORTH Rangers play their last fixture of the National Conference League’s summer competition tomorrow, taking on Ovenden away from home (2.30pm kick-off).



The same fixture was due to be played last week but Rangers were unable to raise a side to travel to Halifax and were handed a nominal 1-0 defeat by the management committee.

Though they were due to host Ovenden at Shaw Hall Bank Road, the club has since been told they must instead fulfil the original away fixture.

Rangers, who head for Dubai next week for a game against the United Arab Emirates Falcons, admit that the experimental competition hasn’t been a success from their perspective.




Northern Rail Nines fixtures —



Saturday: Oldham v Whitehaven (12.30pm, pitch two); Featherstone v Oldham (3pm, pitch one); Oldham v Workington (6pm, pitch two).

Sunday: Plate qualifiers 10.30am; Plate quarter-finals, 11am and 11.30am; Trophy quarter-finals, noon and 12.30pm; Plate semi-finals, 1pm; Trophy semi-finals, 1.30pm; Plate final, 3pm (at Bloomfield Road); Trophy final, 3.50pm (at Bloomfield Road).