Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S TIME TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE
New boss lays down gauntlet to rock-bottom Vikings squad and demands more leaders
NEW Widnes coach Francis Cummins has challenged his entire squad to become leaders as they battle to claw their way off the foot of Super League.
The Vikings take on Catalans in Perpignan today on the back of eight straight league defeats, with Cummins (above) in caretaker charge for the first time since the exit of Denis Betts.
And the new boss will not be only looking to his senior players to halt the slide at the start of five away games in a row.
Cummins said: “We’ve been desperate for someone to jump out and grab hold of it and this is my challenge to the players.
“You might not be No.9 or seven, I’m not interested in that – if you get an opportunity, you grab it with both hands.
“You command that spot and you’ll keep the shirt.
“If one of our young lads is ripping it up, they’ll jump above someone who is recognised.
“If they’re good enough and we feel that someone is physically ready, we’ll do it. We need those lads to push recognised senior pros as far as they can.”
Cummins is hoping the Vikings can continue their recent good record at Catalans, including a crucial win in last year’s Qualifiers that saw them avoid the Million Pound Game.
He said: “I’m really excited because it’s a place where the lads have had a great experience.
“We went there in 2017 with players missing and got the job done.
“Everyone expected us to lose and be in the Million Pound Game.
“The challenge is that they have got their tails up and have knocked a few wins together.
“This is a great time because we’ve got to go there with the confidence that we’re going to beat them again.”
Cummins is set to hand a debut to back-rower Weller Hauraki after he joined from Salford in midweek.
He added: “There’s no doubt that he’s going to give us an extra lift and a bit of threat, as well as increasing the competition for places.”