Heroic Hesse leaves it late

Photo: Picture by TIM ABRAM.

JOE HESSE: came to Oldham’s aid with a last-gasp try.

RUGBY UNION: 

Silloth Tigers 12, Oldham RUFC 13

A LAST-gasp try by Joe Hesse, superbly converted by Callum Megram, saw Oldham grab a dramatic victory at Silloth in the North Lancashire and Cumbria League.

Oldham had to deal with late changes to personnel for the trip to Cumbria, with Brian Massey, Dean McEwan and Jordan Green all unavailable in the build-up to the game.

But the Manor Park side were fortunate that Tom Hannon – returning from shoulder surgery – and Hesse, who has been struggling with a hamstring problem, could join the side, allowing Oldham to travel with 17 men.

There was little in the way of fast-flowing rugby, but Oldham had the edge in the pack with a scrum that went forward all afternoon. But the line-out wasn’t as successful, so control of the ball became unpredictable.

After the hosts had missed a penalty – ultimately to prove crucial – Oldham took the lead through Megram. His boot made it 6-0 after 55 minutes, but Silloth enjoyed a spell of dominance which saw them score twice and convert once to establish a lead.

Oldham’s new level of maturity came to the fore at this difficult stage and they exerted sustained pressure.

Virtually on the final whistle, Oldham thought they had made the decisive score, but Josh Watson was judged to have been held up. From the resulting five-metre scrum, Hesse picked up and powerfully drove over. Meagram held his nerve and slotted over a difficult conversion to take the victory.