ORUFC U15 v Preston GH U15

Twelve months ago, Oldham would have struggled to play a game of this stature, and to have the belief and desire to accept an invitation by the Grasshoppers shows how far this team has come in such a short space of time. The set up at Preston is first class, and the hospitality shown by the home side was greatly received by everyone involved, and we extend our thanks to our generous hosts.

To the game, the pitch conditions were ideal, the weather however resembled scene out of the Day After Tomorrow, and it was that cold. To make matters worse, Oldham had to contend with a strong wind and hail and sleet in their faces in the first half. As Preston got the game underway, Oldham set their stall out to attack, and with Zac Booth taking the first drive of the day, it pushed the home side a little further back. With good clean rucking, Oldham managed to go forward, but the speed in defence was outstanding, and thwarted Oldham moving forward. A mistake gifted Preston the ball, and Oldham had to defend, and that they did. Oscar Cheetham led the way by stiffening up the middle and it was down to him and the rest of the pack that Preston rarely bust up the centre. It was the lack of communication the back line that allowed the wingers to drift in and create massive holes out wide, and against a side of Preston’s quality, they exploited every time. However, winger Aaron Gray who tackled everything that was thrown at him stopped most attacks down his side. It took 10 mins before Preston scored first, and it was a well worked try after the ball seemed to have gone through the scrum and back out the other side. The Oldham players expected a restart, the referee played on and the backs of Preston did some fine handling to touch down under the posts. Conversion good 7-0.

Prop Guvvie Singh tried his hardest to gain yards with a charge up the left hand side, as did Josh Jones-Dean after quick ball from Phil Whittham and Robert Charles released the centre up field. But the defence of Preston held strong. Once Preston had the ball in hand, it was a joy to see and a lesson for everyone on how to attack, and keep in your channels. They did this time and again, and with the half time score of 19-0 to the home side, and the weather getting worse. Oldham could take heart that they defended their heart out, and tried as they could with the little ball they had.

As the second half got under way, Oldham lost key players in Charles, Jay Taylor, Daniel Atkinson, Matt Powell, Adam Berry and Josh Molloy with injuries, and it tested the squad and the positions to the limit. But good teams recover, roll up their sleeves and get on with it, and Oldham did just that. Michael Rigby did well on his return and got some much needed game time under his belt, as did Nathan Randalls who added to his performance against Bolton and tackled superbly. Phil Whitham and Ben Bennett tried their hardest to attack the lines and kick deep, but the weather made it tricky for both sides. Preston added further tries before Josh Jones-Dean took the ball left, showed great strength, power and pace to score in the corner.

Final Score: Preston GH U15 45 v Oldham u15 5

All in all a performance to be proud of, and despite the weather and injuries in the game, the side adapted well. The game was a learning curve for both the team and coaches, and it certainly has added on how we will develop over the next 10 months. A hit out against the best will serve us well going into the Quarter Finals, and Oldham can take a lot of plusses from this game in that the scrums were excellent, as were the lineouts. After analyzing the video, it shows the areas that we need to work on, and that hard work has already started in training on Monday.