PROUD Huddersfield coach Dan Hyde has compared the defensive efforts of Chris Johnson to those of legendary England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

Although Johnson’s attacking armoury is so often the key to his side’s success, it was his tackling that played a huge role in helping his side secure their hard-fought 26-15 triumph over second-placed Westoe.

Hyde felt young No7 Ben Hoyle was the man-of-the-match for an incredible non-stop stint before he was forced to retire with a damaged left ankle after 51 minutes.

But the head coach couldn’t hide his delight at the all-round work produced by his inspirational No10 to help get Huddersfield the win and, at the same time, erase the memory of last week’s tough-to-take defeat at Bromsgrove.

“At the start of the second half, Westoe put us under an incredible amount of pressure. They’re a very good side,” said Hyde.

“And when we lost Nick Sharpe to the sin-bin that made it even harder.

“But there have been a number of occasions this season during times of adversity that the spirt and ethos of this team has really shone through and helped us dig in. That second-half spell was one of those occasions.

“The effort from everyone at that point was outstanding, and it was epitomised by Chris Johnson, whose tackling I can only liken to that of Jonny Wilkinson.

“His tackling is good and his technique is great, and when your No10 is doing it can only lift the rest of the team, which is exactly what it did.”

But Hyde was keen to make it clear this was far from being a one-man performance.

“Chris was obviously good again, but my man-of-the-match would have to be Ben Hoyle. He’s obviously not the biggest No7 in the world, but he doesn’t let that put him off and prevent himself from putting his body in some very difficult situations.

“He really is developing into an excellent player, although it does help when he’s got such experienced players as Nick Sharpe and Gavin Rhodes around him. They again led from the front all game.

“Overall, this was a great win, and we’re all delighted.

“After the events at Bromsgrove the week before, this was exactly the response we were looking for.”