‘Ugly’ works for Roughyeds

HALTED . . . Oldham's Sam Gee is stopped by the Scorpions defence.

Oldham assistant coach Lee Spencer knows his rugby... and needed no nudging to concede Roughyeds posted a 36-32 win at South Wales with an “ugly” performance.

But he was quick to point out that if you can play well below your best and still win, you must be doing something right.

Spencer was in charge at Neath in the absence of head coach Scott Naylor, whose father died on Saturday.

Spencer said: “I can’t say I’m happy with how we played, but a win’s a win. We’ve got a good bunch here. “Early in the game, when we went 16-0 down, I wasn’t at all happy with our defence because too many of our lads took the soft option instead of taking responsibility.

“We needed to compress our middle unit. Once we did that we looked a different team altogether and we fully deserved our 26-16 half-time lead.

“We spoke about a lot of things at half-time — then continued to be the architects of our own downfall. Our set completion rate was no more than 42 per cent. You can’t expect to win games if you are giving your opponents so much possession and advantage.

“But we got there in the end and once again, this was a game that showed we are the fittest side in the division.:”