Below-strength Oldham hit for six

BURNLEY 37, OLDHAM RUFC 5
DEPLETED Oldham RU endured a six-try thrashing at Burnley in North Lancashire Division One.

First-team regulars Ryan North, Paul Waterhouse, Joe Hesse, Will Mellor and Sean Brennan were all absent — and it showed for the majority of the game.

Oldham enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first quarter, but Burnley led after five minutes through a fine try.

The visitors hit back when Gareth Barber floated a penalty beyond the opposition full-back, into space towards the try line. The full-back was slow to react and Oldham players swiftly closed in on him.

Jake Watson led the chase, charged down the attempted clearance and followed up to touch down.

Sadly, that was the peak of Oldham’s game. They undid their good work by conceding too many penalties.

Oldham trailed 18-5 at the interval.

Most spectators expected Guy Lovgreen’s team to close the gap and give their rivals a run for their money. Instead they fell apart and gave away silly penalties.



OLDHAM’S Ryan North is celebrating after being selected to play for Lancashire under-20s.
And club-mates Ryan Pickles, Zac Strudwick and Lewis Woodward are involved in trials for the county’s under-18 team.


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