THE legendary Jason Robinson’s appearance as guest speaker at the big Oldham Rugby celebration dinner at the QE Hall tomorrow (Friday) night is a plus for Mike Ford’s status in both codes of rugby.
It isn’t every day that cross-code international Robinson is able to accept the many approaches he gets to speak at dinners and other events like this, but he and Ford go back a long way and together they were key figures in steering England RU to the 2007 World Cup Final in Paris, Robinson as the Yorkshire lad we have known and loved since he was a slip of a lad at Wigan; Ford as a man with a great reputation in the 15-a-side sport as an extraordinary defensive coach.
South Africa won that Final 15-6 but Ford, then in charge of England’s defensive strategy, went on to concede fewest points in the 2009 Six Nations (70) and fewest tries in the 2010 Six Nations (5).
Robinson had already hit the headlines a few years earlier as the only try scorer on that never-to-be-forgotten day in Sydney in 2003 when England, or Johnny Wilkinson as some would say, won the World Cup by defeating Australia.
England defensive coach on that occasion was no less than Phil Larder who, years earlier, had been Ford’s rugby league mentor at Saddleworth School – a stupendous bit of rugby one-upmanship for Saddleworth School, for this area and, indeed. for schoolboy rugby league as it was then, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
But back to tomorrow night and the link-up of those old rugby mates Ford and Robinson. Now aged 49, Robinson is a senior citizen in rugby term. Quips Ford: “Jason was always smaller than I – and that’s a rarity in rugby circles.”
Ford, current head coach Sean Long, chairman Bill Quinn and former chairman John Chadwick will each be making a speech as Oldham put into words how much the club aspires to reach Super League and how much it’s Foundation intends to develop Melrose for training and for community use including putting a stop to the local talent drain.
“It won’t be east to fulfil all that, but we’ll give it a good go,”
says chairman Quinn, who has hailed the dinner as a chance for the whole rugby community in Oldham to engage with the club and to help to grow it.
He has paid tribute to fans for their support in an exciting start to the year off and on the pitch,
He added:
“Everything everyone does in engaging with our events enables us to put back into the club to give our fans the best experience w can. We are building on that and things will get better as the season goes on.
“Things are gelling on the pitch and we are working hard off it too. We want to enhance the match-day experience for every age group and connecting with our community is key to what we want to achieve.”
