James Ford and Featherstone Rovers looking forward to ‘hostile challenge’ at Barrow Raiders

Rovers produced an emphatic comeback at bottom of the table Dewsbury Rams last weekend to make it five wins on the spin and head coach James Ford is expecting another “challenge” on his hands in Cumbria in Round 9.

He said: “Barrow have got some good players and a good coach. Their supporters will add to that as well. It is a fairly hostile place to go and play rugby.

“But we are looking forward to the challenge. The boys are in a good spot. They have been in a good spot all year.

“We understood why, and how, we lost a couple of games. The world hadn’t ended. We just need to fix one or two things up and we are on the way to doing that.”

After a week off due to the semi-finals of the 1895 Cup, Rovers sluggishly returned to action at FLAIR Stadium last Sunday against the Championship strugglers and found themselves 12-0 down in the first ten minutes.

However, 46 unanswered points gave Fev a comfortable win.

Asked if the mini-break helped, Ford replied:

“Mentally yes, the boys bounced back in last week and trained really well. But if you would have asked me that question after the first 20 minutes (at Dewsbury) I would have said, ‘No, they’re not having any more time off ever!’

“But the response in the second half of the first half, and the second half, shows it was a positive.”