A GREAT Britain team has been guided to global glory by their Warrington-born coach.

Mark Roughsedge, 39, steered the Great Britain 30s women’s side to victory over favourites Australia in the ITF Tag World Cup staged at the University of Limerick in Ireland.

It is the team’s first triumph in only their second world cup campaign in a non-contact format of rugby, with Roughsedge once again showing his all-round coaching talent.

Roughsedge grew up in Latchford, an ardent Warrington Wolves fan, and he was part of The Wire community set-up and scholarship programme before moving to Kent, where he is regional workforce and training lead (London and South East) for StreetGames.

The former Sir Thomas Boteler High School student was behind the early success of the England Wheelchair team which went on to win the Rugby League World Cup last year, leaving the head coach post in early 2020 after whitewashing the hosts on a tour of Australia.

Roughsedge started the Scotland wheelchair rugby league head coach role soon after and continues with those duties alongside staying in the top job with Great Britain 30s women.

The triumph for the GB women’s 30s comes five years after a bronze medal at Coffs Harbour in Australia, when Roughsedge first got involved.

In Limerick they became the first GB team to beat an Australian side in a tag world cup, a feat they then repeated in the final.

Roughsedge’s girls finished top of the standings after the round-robin stage, taking them straight through to the final.

Despite beating each other once earlier in the competition, GB were a cut above when it mattered most and returned a stunning 5-1 win.

Roughsedge said: “I can’t put it into words how it feels. It’s been an outstanding journey and I’m delighted for the girls who are so happy.”

The tournament, staged in the northern hemisphere for the first time, should have been played in 2021 but was postponed twice for Covid related reasons.