De La Salle 0

Blackburn 31

DINO Radice says the future - both in the short term and the long term - look bright at Blackburn Rugby Club.

The Ramsgreave Drive club came away from a potential banana skin at bottom-of-the-table De La Salle with a bonus point victory with a squad that included six ex-Colts.

The Burn head coach says seeing so many youngsters coming up through the ranks is the 'perfect incentive' for the current crop of Colts looking to do likewise in the future.

But in the short term, he hopes the half a dozen can help Blackburn mount a push for promotion and win the Lancashire Cup.

Blackburn have got the campaign back on track thanks to back-to-back victories after losing four games on the spin.

The four-try victory in Salford sees them climb to seventh in the table but just five points behind second-placed Stockport who currently occupy the end-of-season play-off place.

It was a win achieved with ex-Colts Alex Evans, Ross Liddle, Luke Philippides, Chris Richardson-Dulling, Drew Stephenson and Jacob McHugh either starting or coming off the bench - much to the delight of Radice.

"Having so many ex Colts in our first team squad is a great incentive for the younger players at the club," said Radice. "It shows what can be achieved with hard work and commitment and it shows we are willing to invest in youth at the club.

"Having six young players playing Level Six rugby is a great testament to them, the managers and coaches of our junior and Colts teams who have helped them along the way."

It was dominant display by Blackburn as they dismantled De La Salle to follow up their win against Waterloo last week.

Cory Logan scored two tries with Phil Baines, Wilf Whittle and Jamie Brookes also crossing the line. Baines also added 11 points with his boot

"De la Salle may be bottom of the table but it is always a tough place to go if you don't go with the right attitude," said Radice.

"If you just turn up expecting to win then you are in trouble. They will always make it hard for you and try to stop you playing.

"But we were spot on and I was very pleased with the way we went about things, got the bonus point and escaped relatively unscathed."

Blackburn have two games before the Christmas break - at home to Penrith on Saturday and at Broughton Park the following week - and Radice says they are vital when it comes to hopes for the rest of the campaign.

"People may say there is still a long way to go but if we do well in these two games before, it sets us up well for the second half of the season," added the coach who also has a county cup final against Rochdale to look forward to in May.

"Carlisle are the stand-out team in this division at the moment but it is very tight behind them.

"I want us to have lots to play for in the new year. We are already in a Lancashire Cup final and I see no reason why we can't challenge for a play-off place.

"The last thing I want is for us to be knocking around in mid-table with nothing to play for. That is why these two games coming up are so important."