WITH a second home win secured in front of a loyal crowd at Greenwood Road, Billingham’s director of rugby Peter Evans believes his team’s player-led style of training will greatly contribute to gaining more tries and bonus points this season.
Last weekend’s statement 19-17 victory over Otley, who had previously held the National Two North title, was thanks to a last-minute missed drop goal from Eddie Cross-land in the dying embers.
Evans told The Rugby Paper: “We are well aware of what’s coming this season, and every game is a big one. We’re keeping the motivation going without getting ahead of ourselves, but we are happy with where we are and it’s a great environment to be in.
“We worked so hard for that win, just like every win at this level. Each week we attack differently as each team we face has their own strengths and weaknesses, so off-field we take a weekly player-led deep dive into each area of the game to see where we can improve. This system has contributed greatly to the players’ work rate.”
Debutant tighthead Harvey Headlam and star player Tom Campbell, who is a force at openside, were key contributors in last week’s win.
Evans, who along with his brothers Andrew, Michael and Joseph have all worn the jersey with pride for Billingham after following in their father Stewart’s footsteps, added: “The boys stepped up and stuck to the task. Harvey at 18 years of age is a great understander of the game and is a fantastic ball handler who really showed up on his debut.
“Tom has started every game this year and is an invaluable player. Strong, competitive and very good in the tackle area, he is one of those players who can do a bit of everything and do it very well. He has majorly improved his attack and was a leading light on Saturday.”
Evans says the main focus for Billingham looking ahead is to score as many tries as possible and gather the bonus points game by game.
He added: “Our aspirations are to continue with what we’ve worked on, keep progressing and show our fans how hard we’ve been working together in training.
“We haven’t earmarked a position on the table, we’re just concentrating on changing the structure of how we are going to play this season.
“We’ve got a strong emphasis on getting bonus points and a major focus on a strong attack as well as a great defensive effort. The lads have a good ethos, along with the right attributes, so combining these traits with their positive attitude we feel we can remain in the National Two and continue to push on.”
