Firsts pay price for poor defending

RUGBY UNION: OLDHAM firsts felt slightly aggrieved after an opening-day defeat at Blackburn in North Lancs and Cumbria Division One.

Guy Lovegreen’s side, who started brightly, were in the end guilty of a poor defensive display in the 29-0 loss.

Oldham were encamped in the opposition half for the first 20 minutes, but a long-range penalty attempt from Andy Gorey sailed just wide.

Moments later Blackburn’s star man, Craig Diggle, took advantage of a missed tackle to set up stand-off Paul Hesketh for the opening score. Hesketh added the conversion.

Oldham gave as good as they got in the first period, only for Blackburn to stretch their lead moments before half-time.

From a drop-out on the Blackburn 22-metre line, the Oldham forwards were unable to secure the ball and the home side scored through Diggle, with Hesketh adding the extras.

Despite trailing by 14 points, Oldham still harboured hopes of victory.

However, two tries in a 15-minute spell from Diggle dashed any prospect of a fightback.
Blackburn’s four tries earned them a bonus point in the new scoring system.

And they added a fifth when winger Ard Maudsley went over in stoppage time.

For Oldham, Brian Massey and Jack Taylor were the pick of the forwards, while Pete Scrivens made a welcome return at scrum-half.


THE third team, with Anthony Cunningham, Luis Fitton and Alex Nixon to the fore, offered hope for the future despite losing to Dukinfield seconds.

After falling behind following a long spell of pressure, Oldham worked doggedly in a bid to keep their opponents at bay.

But they were unable to prevent Dukinfield from adding three more tries, while Oldham responded through a Paul Goodier score converted by Lee Whitehead.

Oldham were up against it for much of the second half, but restricted Dukinfield to one more try, which was scored when the local side were a man down.