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SAID TAMGHART

A Frenchman, Said Tamghart made a big impression in his first season in English rugby league with Roughyeds in 2007, and it was a popular move among supporters when he was re-engaged by the club on a new one-year deal for 2008.
 
Used mainly by coach Steve Deakin as an impact forward coming off the bench, Said played in 29 Oldham games in 2007, scoring four tries. His strong and straight running, plus many big hits in defence, quickly made him a favourite with the fans.
 
His consistency, reflected in the number of games he played, would have been rewarded even more had he not fractured an eye socket in an accidental clash of heads at Swinton early in the season.
 
Nevertheless, he did more than enough to indicate that he can look forward to an even better season in 2008, given that he and his family are more settled in Oldham now and that he knows what to expect more than he did last year when he was largely taking a leap into the unknown.
 
He first came to England with the 'utility' tag, but perhaps that failed to do justice to this French international, who has represented his country at ever level, including fully-fledged Test matches against Australia and New Zealand. He played prop against the Aussies and second-row against the Kiwis, but over the course of his career he has also played in several other positions, including loose-forward, centre and even wing.
 
On his way up the ladder to full French internatinal honours, he played for Capentras, Avignon and UTC (better known now as Perpignan-based Catalans Dragons) and it was while he was at UTC that he came under the wing of Deaks, who holds him in the highest regard.
 
He reached the pinnacle of his career three years ago when he played against Australia and New Zealand, but he had long held an ambition to play for England and, having sampled it in 2007, he had no hesitation in signing again for 2008.
 
It helps that Deaks speaks fluent French although Said himself does well with his English. Aged 27, he is one of six rugby-playing brothers. He is here with his wife Laurence and a young family.