Agony for Rangers

YOUTH RUGBY: Saddleworth Rangers under-15s pushed Latchford Albion all the way before falling to a heartbreaking 16-12 away defeat in the semi-finals of the North-West Counties Cup.

Rangers repelled early pressure to notch the first try, Ben White spotting a gap and releasing Lewis Galbraith to score.

The try was followed up by a great attacking set from the Saddleworth forwards, who made space for Chris Bolton to go over in the corner to make it 8-0 at half-time.

Rangers continued to dominate as the second half opened but points didn’t follow and Latchford found their way back in.

Two tries, the first of which was converted, gave Albion a 10-8 lead and a mistake led to a further try which made the score 16-8 with seven minutes left.

Bolton then stormed down the wing and chipped through for Scott Booth to collect before taking the return pass to reduce the arrears to four points with three minutes left.

Rangers even thought they had drawn level when White stripped the ball and scored over the line, only for the referee to rule it wasn’t a one-on-one tackle.

Latchford now play Orrell in the final on Sunday, April 25.

A four-point lead at the top of North-West Counties division two remains in place for Rangers under-14s, who beat Leigh Miners Rangers 14-6.

Saddleworth took the game to Leigh and were rewarded when Dominic Elkin opened the scoring after a well-worked move.

Rangers doubled their advantage before half time when a lovely defence-splitting pass from Adam Wardle sent Harry Wallace scampering over for a try.

Jack Sykes added try number three early in the second half, collecting the ball low down after James Fowles had made a splendid break.

Dominic D’Adamo’s conversion made it 14-0 before Leigh responded with a converted try late on.

A try and a pair of try-saving tackles earned Jacob Ford the man-of-the-match award for Rangers under-12s, who won 18-8 at Milnrow.

Ford opened the scoring and Tom Brisk added a second for Rangers before the home team pulled one back before half-time.

Captain Tom Jowle made sure of the win with a try of his own in a hard-fought in for Saddleworth.

The under-11s enjoyed a 32-20 victory over Wigan St Pats. Tries came from Kade Howarth (two), Nick Craig (two), Billy Buckley and Keitel Howarth.

Meanwhile, six different players scored tries for Rangers under-nines, who beat Wigan St Cuthbert’s by seven tries to two. Josh Yarwood scored twice.




Handling errors prove costly



OLDHAM St Anne’s under-16s went down 26-12 away to Wigan St Patrick’s.



The match was close for the most part and a well-taken try from Josh Ogden and Nathan Shaw-Langhorn’s conversion left Saints 14-6 down at the break.

In the second half, Ewan Reddyoff made an excellent break and scored for St Anne’s, with the resulting conversion successfully popped over by Martyn Swaine.

But handling errors let the home team off the hook several times and the Wigan side ran out winners.

There is now only one more game left for the under-16s before some players move off to professional clubs, so Saints will be going all-out for a win against Rylands this weekend.

Joshua Fish celebrated his return to action for Oldham St Anne’s under-11s by claiming the boy-of-the-match award in his side’s 20-6 win at New Springs Lions.

Saints scored first through a long-range Regan Croft effort, the same player adding a conversion.

Alex France then picked up in his own in-goal to race home on the outside, adding the goal for a 12-0 lead at half-time.

Cameron Molloy then had one disallowed for an incorrect grounding but on the next set a smart move ended with Joseph Hall touching down.

Top tackler Callum Travis was last to cross for Saints, who conceded a late try.

It was a first loss of 2010 for St Anne’s under-nines, who were defeated 10 tries to six at home to Atherton Dragons.

Danny Fish (two), Asa France, Samuel Jewitt, Max Flanagan and Thomas Barnes scored the Saints tries.




Waterhead in control



WATERHEAD under-17s dominated their home game against West Bank Bears, running out 28-0 winners.



A strong opening led to tries from Sam Wilson and captain Anthony Mellor, Michael Tattersall converting both, and excellent defence kept the visitors at bay to leave the score at 12-0 at half-time.

A repeat performance followed in the second half, Waterhead pulling further away with tries from Jordan Hanley and Curtis Robinson, both converted by Tattersall.

Four tries from Kyle Mayall helped Waterhead under-16s blow away Blackbrook 42-10 with a breathtaking attacking display to remain third in the North-West Counties premier division.

Early tries from Kyle Mayall and Josh Johnson, both converted by Ben Whitehead, made the score 12-0.

A converted try from home side Blackbrook followed but a Whitehead penalty made it 14-6 at half-time.

After upping their game in the second period, the visitors scored five more tries through Mayall (three), Jack Cooke and Aaron Webb, Whitehead adding goals to all but one.