I’m a proud coach — Benson

ROUGHYEDS coach Tony Benson saluted his players’ for their resilience and mental toughness after a patched-up outfit demolished Doncaster 46-24.

“We had to reshuffle the team because of injury and illness — and then reshuffle it again at the last minute,” he said.

“We could easily have started to feel sorry for ourselves and died. Instead, we responded to adversity, and played some great rugby.

“I’m a proud coach after that. And I take off my hat to each player, from 1 to 17.”

Benson reserved a special pat on the back for Michael Ward, the debutant who did not know he was playing until literally minutes before kick-off, and John Gillam, who was rushed back into action after a three-month lay-off with a smashed-up face and only one training session.

Benson added: “Ward got his big chance at first-team level and took it superbly, while Gillam jumped in a week before he was due to do any contact work.

“We bashed him about on the tackle bags to see if he could stand up to it, but he was still a very brave boy to go out there and play as he did.

“We are working really hard in training and although we still have a lot of work to do, I am seeing a big improvement right through the team.”