Featherstone Rovers coach James Webster admits his side’s controversial midweek trip to Toulouse is already causing problems for his squad.
Rovers travel to France to play on the Wednesday after the Easter weekend in a fixture that was criticised by Rovers Chairman Mark Campbell but defended by the RFL.
Webster says some members of his stretched squad may not be able to get sufficient time off work to play.
He explained: “The boys will have to take three days off work and that’s not possible for everyone.
“If you work on a roof that’s started, your boss might say ‘sorry, you can’t have that time off until we’ve finished it’.
“We can’t even fly to Toulouse now, need to go via Beziers and then have a three-hour coach journey.
“After a night game we have to get up at 4am to fly back to England, and for blokes that work that’s just ridiculous.
“Leigh, London and Toulouse are the full-time teams in this division, and if any club had to travel in midweek it should be them.
“I’m not bashing the RFL, but this is a massive problem for us.”
On a more positive note, backrower John Davies could make his first appearance of the season in the Challenge Cup clash with Hunslet this Friday.
Davies underwent an ankle reconstruction in early December.
Webster said: “He’s back running and trained fully last week.
“We’re hoping that he’ll be able to do enough to get back onto the park next week.”
Fellow forward Dale Ferguson needs a scan on his quad and knee issues that haven’t improved, while Thomas Minns remains on course to return either at the end of this month or the start of next.
