Roughyeds Report: May

oldham roughyedsOLDHAM RUGBY breezed into the merry month of May as Kingstone Press League One leaders with four wins from four and promptly extended that winning sequence with a narrow 33-30 triumph at Whitebank against Gloucester All Golds.

Astonishingly, it’s more than two years since the Roughyeds were last beaten on home soil in the league, but now comes the real test with visits by Newcastle Thunder on Sunday, May 17 and North Wales Crusaders on Sunday, June 7.

Sandwiched in between, on Sunday, May 31 is a daunting task at Keighley Cougars, the only other team in the 14-club division to go into May with a 100 per cent league record.

“It’s nice to be top of the league, but at this early stage we won’t get carried away,” said coach Scott Naylor. “We’ll see where we stand in mid-June and that will give us a better idea of where we are going and what we need to do to keep up the momentum.”

The Newcastle game at Whitebank has all the makings of a cracker. Puzzled as to their identity? It’s the former Gateshead Thunder club which has moved across the Tyne, linked up with rugby union club Newcastle Falcons, enjoyed a rebranding and has gone from strength to strength with an influx of players from Papua New Guinea.

Early-season wins at Rochdale and at North Wales Crusaders were fashioned by their iconic coach Stanley Gene, once of Hull KR and PNG fame, and caused a lot of eyebrow raising in the sport.

On home soil, which is now at Kingstone Park, Newcastle, they demolished Barrow 34-22 on the opening day of the season, but then lost 36-16 to Keighley Cougars – their only defeat in five outings.

Roughyeds, meanwhile, believe they have unearthed a little gem in 18-year-old Tom Dempsey, a Widnes boy in his first season of senior rugby after spending last year with the now-defunct Roughyeds’ under-20s side.

Playing at full-back, he scored his first try at this level in the 48-6 home win against London Skolars and followed up with an outstanding man-of-the-match performance against Gloucester.

A talented teenager with slick hands and a hefty left boot, he fashioned two tries for winger Steven Nield, dropped a goal, landed two superb conversions off the right-hand touchline and pulled off a one-on-one, try-saving tackle which was probably the game’s defining moment.

“He’s a naturally gifted kid, but we won’t be rushing him,” said Naylor, who pointed out that he still had a lot of work to do on the fitness, strength and physical side of his game.

“I’ve talked to him at length about his development and he knows that he’ll be in and out of the side as we monitor his progress and act in his best interests and those of the team.”