Oldham put on a show for old boys

MINE'S A PINT...past and present Oldham RUFC players gather at Manor Park

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Oldham 1sts 23, Bolton 1sts 5

OLDHAM RUFC'S first XV are proving a force to be reckoned with in 2017 after continuing their unbeaten start to the New Year.

Bolton arrived hoping to avenge December's 26-25 loss, but the home side were in no mood to let down a sizeable crowd boosted by the reunion of past and present players.

Oldham's pack leader Gaz Blomeley returned for this North Lancashire/Cheshire League clash, while Dean McEwan was back from holiday. Billy Buckley joined the match-day 18, so too Robert Froggatt.

The mid-table rivals spent the first 10 minutes sizing up each other, and looked evenly-matched.

Despite the bitterly-cold weather, conditions under foot were good and both sides wanted to get the ball wide whenever they could.

Oldham looked livelier in attack and, following sustained pressure in the Bolton 22, Callum Megram slotted over a penalty.

The hosts made a mess of the restart, and from the resulting scrum Bolton's stand-off tore through the midfield and created an overlap for the visiting winger, who had a free run to the line. It was a good score, but Oldham would ask questions about their defensive structure.

However, they would prove Bolton's only points of the contest.

Oldham struck back moments later with Megram's second penalty.

Will Mellor and Gaz Barber were at their mischievous best and with Josh Watson, Megram, Charlie Roscoe, Alex Jobson and Ryan Arundale all running strongly outside them, and sometimes inside of them, Oldham should have extended their lead.

The pressure eventually paid off, with Barber's kick was collected by Jobson, who sprinted for the line from the 22. The difficult conversion was missed.

With the forwards in control, the hosts carried on where they left off, with only the final pass or last-ditch tackle thwarting them.

Oldham extended their advantage in the 55th minute when Megram hacked the ball into the in-goal area and outpaced the defence for his side's second try. He also added the conversion.

Phil Graham touched down under a pile of bodies to eke out the score to 23-5, but Megram failed this time with the kick from a tricky angle.

With 10 minutes remaining, could Oldham grab the bonus point for scoring four tries? No. Try as they might, and despite Buckley being so impressive in the scrummage, they were denied.

One of the most satisfying aspects of the game was the Oldham penalty count, which didn't reach double figures.

Next up for Oldham, Saturday's away trip to promotion-chasing De la Salle.

• Check out our picture sales page tonight to purchase copies of our reunion game photos.