RU men beaten

OLDHAM RUFC were unable to dent Kirkby Lonsdale’s promotion bid in North Lancs/Cumbria division following their 30-5 defeat in Cumbria.

It proved a difficult game for mid-table Oldham as Kirkby had a big, well organised pack which dominated the scrums and lineouts.

As a result, Oldham struggled to get hold of possession and spent most of the match defending.

Kirkby broke the deadlock with a try from winger Rick Barton and they later added another touchdown from centre Dave Barton.

Tom Pickhall kicked one conversion and one penalty to give the hosts a 15-0 interval lead.

Oldham’s only score of the game came two minutes after the restart when Mark Goodman, Gareth Barber and Michael Ward combined to release Andy Gorey who darted over in the corner.

In fairness, Oldham saw more of the ball in the second period and created a number of chances. Had they managed to get as much possession as Kirkby, it would have been a much closer contest.

Winger Mike Balshaw restored Kirkby’s 15-point cushion with a try after 44 minutes and late on centre Grant Clarke and second-row forward Matt Hughes also scored.

Had Pickhall not had the misfortune of hitting the post three times with kicks at goal, Oldham would have suffered a heavier margin of defeat.