Unfortunate referee injury halts Oldham RU in their tracks

After an eye-opening start to the league fixtures the previous week at Bury, Oldham returned home to face Clitheroe.

However, their clash at Manor Park had to be abandoned at half-time thanks to the referee suffering an injury. 

With the weather forecast looking dreadful, the squad of 18 hoped to brighten the day for those watching from the side-lines.

A few injuries from last week, plus some unusual absences, meant changes were needed.

Stuart Brennan was busy tackling the plates at an all-inclusive, while Paul Wardle was enjoying the bucking bronco on his birthday trip to Benidorm.

That left Jim Forster with the decision of who to bring into the match-day squad.

Luckily, thanks to a strong pre-season, the choices were there.

Greg Higgins, Luke Ferrier, Arjun Mistry, and Brian Massey all came in, alongside two players returning from retirement: Jordan McEwan and Rhys Jones.

The game kicked off with Oldham receiving the ball and playing through a few steady phases.

Captain Tom Davies made a strong clearance to set the tone early on.

Within three minutes, we saw the first scrum of the afternoon.

Marshall Yates, Dean McEwan and Chris Shaw stepped up to the challenge, with Oldham winning the ball and moving onto the attack.

A penalty for not rolling away gave Davies the chance to clear to the 10m line.

From there, Oldham played through phases before an unfortunate knock-on by the captain - though we’ll blame the rain for that (just this once).

Oldham responded well, winning the next scrum and showing real dominance.

Jack Taylor broke from the base and carried strongly before linking with Jordan McEwan, who shifted it through Alex Jobson and out to Reece Blackley on the wing.

He was bundled into touch by a well-timed drift defence, handing Clitheroe the lineout. Oldham stole possession back, and after quick work through the middle, Lewis Ward and Corey Kelly combined smartly.

Kelly spotted a gap and darted through to score the opening try.

Jobson converted, giving Oldham a 7–0 lead.

From the restart, Greg Higgins took the ball into contact, recycling well.

A swift cross-field kick from Jobson gave Blackley another chance to run, but silly penalties allowed Clitheroe to regain momentum.

A quick tap from the visitors put Oldham under pressure, but the defence held firm through multiple phases.

Eventually, another penalty gave Clitheroe their opportunity, and they crossed for a try.

The conversion was missed, leaving the score at 7–5.

The next 15–20 minutes were end-to-end, with both sides evenly matched.

Davies forced a turnover at the breakdown, but Oldham conceded a penalty at the following scrum.

Clitheroe cleared deep into Oldham’s 22, and despite Oldham winning the lineout, another penalty was given away.

This time Clitheroe took the three points, nudging ahead 7–8.

Oldham’s vice-captain Jack Taylor was then shown a yellow card for offside inside his own 22.

Clitheroe took full advantage, going through the phases to score and convert, stretching their lead to 7–15.

Moments later, another penalty was quickly taken by Clitheroe and they scored an unconverted try. 7-22

Approaching half-time, Oldham needed to regroup.

Some patient play up the middle drew in defenders before Kelly crashed through the centre to score under the posts.

Jobson converted, narrowing the gap to 14–22

Unfortunately, that was where the afternoon ended.

In an unlucky accident, referee found himself on the wrong end of a powerful carry from Luke Ferrier.

Had the official not been in the way, you’d have backed Ferrier to break through and bring Oldham level before the break.

After treatment from the physio, the referee was unable to continue, and the game was abandoned.

It was a frustrating finish, as the contest was shaping up to be an excellent second half, with both sides evenly matched across the pitch.

Everyone at Oldham wishes the referee a speedy recovery.

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