MIKE Ford will be interviewed by both ITV and BBC tomorrow (Wed) regarding the five-man consortium’s purchase of Oldham Rugby League Club, so there is every chance (there can never be certainties about these things) that Mike and the club will be featured on regional TV news programmes.
Tune in to ITV’s regional news programme at 6pm tomorrow (Wed) and to the BBC’s regional news at 6.30.
Fordy, one of the five, is Oldham born and bred and is best known locally as a former Oldham player and coach, who also played for Wigan, Leigh, Castleford and Great Britain.
He played at Wembley for Oldham under-11 schoolboy in a curtain-raiser to the 1977 Challenge Cup final and returned to the famous stadium as scrum-half to Australian super star Brett Kenny when Wigan beat Hull in the 1985 final.
Now aged 57, he played for St Anne’s as a boy, toured New Zealand with BARLA under-18s and won GB Colts honours.
As an Oldham player, he toured Australia and New Zealand with Great Britain in 1988.
He has also carved a top career in Rugby Union as a coach after leaving Oldham in 2001 to become defence coach of the Ireland RU squad.
He also worked for Saracens, joined the RFU as England’s defence coach and became head coach at Bath before moving to coach in France.
He is now back in his native heath, living in Diggle after attending Saddleworth School as a boy. In charge of rugby at Saddleworth School at that time was Phil Larder, who played as a centre for Oldham RL Club for many years and also became a big name in RU coaching circles. He was England’s defence coach when they won the World Cup in 2003, having previously coached England and Great Britain in Rugby League.
Roughyeds, who have won each of their two league games so far against London Skolars at home and North Wales Crusaders away, next play at home, the Vestacare Stadium, against derby rivals Rochdale Hornets at Easter.
Next season, 2024, Oldham will play at Boundary Park, having a long-term agreement in place with Oldham Athletic for a ground-share agreement on a new £1m state-of-the-art pitch paid for and provided by Oldham Council.
