Roughyeds claim Law Cup spoils

Oldham Roughyeds v Rochdale Hornets - Law Cup Final: Man of the match: Ben Wood, pictured with Steve Brown (left) and Chris Hamilton (right), picks up the Heritage Trust Trophy after scoring a hat-trick

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Oldham 34, Rochdale 28
As team performances go on the opening day of a pre-season programme, Oldham's offering at Whitebank on Sunday was just about as good as one could reasonably expect.

An 18-man Roughyeds squad, which included half a dozen rookies at this level, not only wrestled back the Law Cup from derby rivals, but did it in a style which underpinned the management's belief that preparations for 2011 are moving along nicely.

As satisfying as it was for fans to see skipper Neil Roden lifting the cup, it was just as rewarding for them to witness a solid all-round team effort in which the club's new recruits passed their debut tests, some of them with A-star ratings.

Big Ben Wood, in the second-row, couldn't have dreamed of a more spectacular first game for his hometown club, scoring a hat-trick of tries and winning personal silverware as man of the match.

The 21-year-old former Salford City Reds youngster, running wide on the left in the channel occupied last season by Joe Chandler (now at Halifax), did enough to show that he has the size, mobility and hunger to run in loads of tries this year in a side which will again rely heavily on master craftsman Roden, at stand-off, to create scoring opportunities.

Wood twice chased Roden's teasing kicks to touch down in the 13th and the 26th minutes and then completed his hat-trick early in the second half when hitting a peach of a pass from another impressive debutant — John Clough.

"Rugby at this level was a lot tougher than I expected," said Wood afterwards, "but it was a great feeling to score three times and to pick up the man-of-the-match trophy.

"There are quite a few new signings in the squad, but we have bonded really well over the pre-season and I think that was evident in today's performance.

"Hopefully, we can build on this now as we go through our other pre-season games and then move into the Northern Rail Cup competition."

Given that team boss Tony Benson and his assistant Martin Roden have been limited in preparatory work by the weather, the coaching duo were delighted to see Roughyeds record seven tries — by Wood (3), Alistair Williams, full-back Ben Heaton, prop Luke Sutton and centre Mark Brocklehurst — to Rochdale's five.

Said Benson: "So far, so good. We used the ball at the right time; our contact work in the tackle was already better than last year; and as most of our training so far has been done in a smallish judo gym, everything we did with the ball was a bonus.

"Defence and go-forward were good. We've also got some size about us now. We're looking a big squad -- and in Tom Wood-Hulme we've got the new Wayne Kerr.

"The club has done a great recruitment job. I think I'm entitled to be excited about the season's prospects."

Hornets refused to capitulate and twice forced themselves back into the game – first from 18-6 down to 18-16 and then from 30-16 in arrears to 30-28.

It made for an exciting finish in which Roughyeds wrapped it all up with a clinching try by the determined Brocklehurst four minutes from the end.

Scorers: Oldham — goals, Diveney (3); tries, Wood (3), Williams, Heaton, Sutton, Brocklehurst; Hornets — goals, McGovern (4); tries, Hough, Yates, Smith (2), Strong.