Oldershaw took to the field at Oxton Parkonians looking to extend their winning run to 5 games. After a tough local derby the previous week several changes were made, including Nige Clarke making his first start of the season at tight head and Callum Manning returning on the wing after a few weeks out. Kieran Smith also made a welcome return to the bench after being named in the squad on two occasions previously but managing to injure himself in the warm up both times.

After a couple of early set piece mishaps, Shaw settled into the game, managing to stop Parks runners crossing the game line and eventually forcing turnover ball. Some superb hands in the backs saw Phil Skeggs cross for his first try of the day. Pete Atkinson crossed for a second try not long afterwards following several phases of pressure on the Parks try line.

Unfortunately, discipline issues seen in previous weeks started to appear again with several penalties seeing Shaw pinned back on their own try line. Chasing the scoreboard, Parks turned down several opportunities to kick points and opted to go for the line but the defensive line was absolutely outstanding with hit after hit put in to prevent the try and eventually clear downfield.

Shaw continued to struggle to reach parity at scrum time against a strong Parks pack, but from a rare dominant scrum, Phil Skeggs crashed over for a second try to extend Shaws lead. A fantastic 50m break from Connor Lloyd-Jones nearly resulted in a try for Dave Power, but a dubious forward pass call denied Shaw a 4th try. Parks cleared for a lineout from the resulting scrum, which Shaw turned into a 30m driving maul, ending in Connor Jones crossing from short range, giving Shaw a dominant lead at half time.

Unfortunately, the 2nd half was marred by ill-discipline and unforced errors as the rain set in, meaning Shaw spent most of the 2nd half defending. It was a testament to the high quality of the defensive line that Parks only managed to cross for a single try in the corner after sustained pressure. A further two tries were added for Shaw, Phil Skeggs capitalising on a spilled ball to complete his hat-trick, and Josh Smith scoring from the back of another driving maul in the last play of the game.

All in all, another good performance from Oldershaw, who displayed their defensive qualities throughout, spending a lot of the game without the ball. However they will feel points were left out there either through handling errors or handing the incentive to the opposition through unnecessary penalties. Pete Atkinson was awarded Man of the Match by Parks after the game with Skeggs (probably harshly after scoring a hat-trick) awarded Dick of the Day for managing to kick the ball behind him attempting a clearance kick.

The 2nd team also picked up another fantastic win at home to Oxton Parks 2s, maintaining their unbeaten start to the season. A great result, but the biggest highlight was possibly Shaw fielding a front row with a combined age of 176 for half of the game. Possibly a club record? Big shout out for Gary Mc, Graham Kenna, and Ali Jones for continuing to turn out week upon week. Just shows you’re never too old.

Both sides play at home this weekend in the cup, and it would be great to see people down to watch. The support has been incredible this season so far, both home and away, long may it continue.

Final Scores
Oxton Parkonians 5 – 38 Oldershaw (Try scorers – Skeggs x3, Pete, Welsh Connor, Josh Smith)
Oldershaw 2nd XV 38 – 0 Oxton Parkonians 2nd XV (Try scorers – Duffy x2, Rob x2, Porno, Planto, Stu)