THE last time he stepped out on the Craven Park pitch for a competitive match, Luke Cresswell was still wearing the shirt of his amateur club, Barrow Island.

It has been quite a journey for the 21-year-old full-back since the 23-6 defeat in the Cumbria Cup final to all-conquering Distington at the start of July, which culminated with him making his bow for the town's professional team last weekend.

Cresswell had long been on the radar of Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey, having played for the club in the pre-season match against a Barrow and District representative team, and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract in the weeks following that final.

The impressive form of Raiders' regular full-back, Ryan Fieldhouse, has meant Cresswell having to bide his time, but Fieldhouse being unavailable for the trip to unbeaten Kingstone Press League One leaders Toulouse Olympique meant the Barrow prospect was handed his opportunity.

“It was only three months ago I was playing in the Cumbria Cup final,” said Cresswell. “So going from that level - which is a good level - and playing the best team in the division who have beaten teams like Leigh, it was a bit daunting, but I enjoyed it.

“I'm rugby-mad anyway, so having the opportunity to play against teams like that is the sort of things I thrive on.”

Buoyed by those Barrow fans who made the trip to the South of France - “For my first game, I didn't expect to have that many people there and they were brilliant,” he said – Cresswell thrived on his first competitive outing in a Raiders shirt.

And although the visitors suffered a 44-22 defeat, he was still able to take plenty of positives from the experience.

“It was fast - a lot faster than I'm normally used to - and it was hot as well, which had a lot to do with it,” said Cresswell. “We didn't start well, but we dug in and it was good.

“They're a good team, they were quick and they were a bit off-the-cuff, so you didn't know what they were doing. Everyone liked to kick the ball they are quite a tricky team to play against.

“We didn't start the game strong, but eventually we got into it and, set for set, I think we matched them. They scored a few runaway tries, which was a bit unfortunate, and it was a hard game because they are a big, tough side.

“But we stuck in well and I don't think many teams have put 20-odd points on them in France.”

Working as a network planner in the shipyard means Cresswell is in close proximity to the Raiders' home ground and has no problems making training as a result.

The nature of his job means he is not doing anything too strenuous on his muscles during the day either and that has allowed him to be at his best come training on a Tuesday and Thursday evening.

Along with developing as player, Cresswell is pleased with the progress he has made on the physical side of the game too thanks to the work he has done with the Raiders' strength and conditioning guru, Paddy Maher.

“I've come along really well since Paddy has been there,” said Cresswell. “The main thing was trying to put a bit of weight on, which I have always really struggled with, for some reason.

“Since Paddy has been there, he's written programmes out for me and sticking to them is so much easier to do and having someone there telling you what you're doing wrong and what you're doing right is brilliant.

“That's why I wanted to sign down there full-time because they've got that bit of experience in every department.

“They've got good fitness coaches who can help bring you along and a good physio. I feel like I've put on a bit of weight, I've got a bit stronger and everything is improving.”

Cresswell knows he is just at the start of his career though and is happy to bide his time should Fieldhouse, as expected, be restored to the side come the play-off semi-final at home to Doncaster a week on Sunday.

But rest assured he will be pouring over the video of the game against Toulouse and trying to find aspects of his game to improve on as he bids to show Crarey he is worthy of a regular place in the side.

“I'll have a look at the video and there will be loads of things to improve on, and you can only do that when you play,” said Cresswell.

“You can do it in training, but you can't really get it game-related. There is loads to improve on; you can't make any mistake in a game like that or you'll get punished.

“But now, with that game under my belt, I can look at the video and go over it with a fine-tooth comb. I'm sure there is loads I can improve on, but for my first outing I was pretty pleased with how it went - obviously not the result, but I was happy with my own performance.”