Welsh wizardry exposes Oldham

DAVE ELLISON finds there is no way through the Welsh defence

OLDHAM 24 - SOUTH WALES 42

SECOND place is now guaranteed, but Roughyeds coach Tony Benson won’t want any more performances like this with the Co-operative Championship One play-offs around the corner.

Outfought, out-thought and thoroughly outplayed, Oldham were unexpectedly cut to the quick at the Whitebank Stadium.

From the second minute onwards, South Wales held a lead they never relinquished as a weary-looking home side stuttered, looking decidedly shaky in defence and slipshod going forward.

The silver lining on a day of black clouds was provided by the post-game news that Hornets RL had lost at Workington – a result which means nobody can now pip Benson’s boys to second in the table.

The Oldham coach had said in the build-up to this game that you only notice how much work prop forward Jason Boults, who led the team out on his 100th club appearance, does when he isn’t playing.

The same could easily have been said for Neil Roden. The injured stand-off was a spectator and Oldham missed his organisation and eye for a pass badly against their Neath-based opponents.

Matty Ashe was handed the sponsors’ man-of-the-match awards but this wasn’t one of his better games.

No doubt the wine was flowing freely in the club’s new executive facilities, but the Gregg McNally-Ashe axis failed to click in attack.

Coupled with some sturdy defence from the Scorpions, it meant that the home team struggled badly to create openings down the slope in the first half.

And when play was flowing the other way, outstanding Wales international Lloyd White, who claimed a hat-trick of tries as well as scoring seven goals, was at the heart of everything as the visitors regularly slipped their way past some lax defending.

Crusaders-owned White, a dual registered player who has appeared in Super League this season, got on the score sheet after a couple of minutes, diving over from scrum-half after Chandler had fumbled a poor pass from Martin Roden which bobbled along the floor.

Andrew Gay went close to grabbing a second try for South Wales, only to drop an inside pass when presented with a clear run to the line 40 metres out.

Oldham hit back and only excellent defending kept the home side at bay as the pressure was exerted.

It eased once again when White ran an excellent angle to crash home, converting for a second time.

Lucas Onyango brought the Roughyeds back into the game by scoring after cutting in from the right wing, McNally goaling.

But the better rugby was still coming from the Scorpions and a neat break ended with Steve Parry going over, Loz Wildbore taking the kicking duties with White having a rest on the substitutes’ bench.

McNally stole through for an important score two minutes before half-time, Ashe knocking the conversion over to reduce the deficit to 18-12.

With little in the tank, Oldham didn’t have it in them to really push on up the hill in the second half.

A show-and-go try by Gay and a brilliant length-of-field effort by Casey Bromilow arrived in the 10 minutes following the interval.

The latter saw the South Wales scrum-half snatch McNally’s cut-out pass and outrun speedy duo Paul O’Connor and Onyango to the line.

Ashe produced a piece of good individual play by sneaking through the line to notch Oldham’s third try.

But any thoughts of a comeback were dashed when the outstanding White again caught the home side napping close to the line.

At 36-18, the game was up by the time White lined up three further successful penalty shots, the first of which he belted over from behind his halfway line.

Ben Heaton gave home fans something to cheer with a well-taken try on the run two minutes from the end.

“We have been building towards a performance like that all year,” said South Wales coach Anthony Seibold.

“We have a whole heap of ability in our side, with all the kids from South Wales.

“Everything came to fruition on the day in a really good performance.

“To win 42-24 away from home against a class team like Oldham, who are second in the table, was very satisfying.”