History-maker Mark still Fitt as a fiddle!

FAMILY TIES . . . Oldham's Louis Fitton (left) and dad Mark.

RUGBY: MARK Fitton must be one of the fittest guys in Oldham.

At 42, he still turns out regularly for three rugby teams, trains as hard as anyone, and this season has been playing alongside his son Louis in Oldham RU’s first XV.

It’s only the second time at Manor Park in over 100 years that father and son have played in the same team and it could go on for some time: he wants to carry on getting stuck in until he’s 50 - at least!

Mark said: “I just love playing rugby - it’s in my blood and I’d play it all day and all night if I could.

“I play for Oldham at union, Fitton Hill at rugby league, and then occasionally I turn out for an over-35s masters team which is based in Blackpool.

“I’ve had my share of injuries down the years, but right now I’m really fit, I get to every training session I possibly can, and I feel great.

“I always keep up with the younger lads and with the way it’s going so far, I’ll keep on playing until I’m 50 or even older.”

Furniture shop worker and scrum-half Louis is 21, and though he is also a big feature at Manor Park, he perhaps doesn’t possess quite the same enthusiasm for rugby as his dad, as he didn’t take up the game until his was a teenager.

“It’s just felt like a natural progression for Louis,” said Mark. “It’s great that he’s following in my footsteps.

“We play and train hard together and that suits me just fine.”