Oldham RU end year with defeat at local rivals

Oldham RUFC’s last fixture of 2024 was a 52-17 defeat at local rivals Littleborough, who are sat third in the table.

With the number of players unavailable through injury and unavailability increasing, Oldham handed a first team debut to Colin Dambanevana at centre and Josh Cimmermanis on the bench.

Also a return to action for former first XV captain Ross Cooper in the forwards a number of years since his last appearance.

Littleborough took little time to get going scoring after five minutes following some poor first up tackling from Oldham, but from the following restart Oldham kicked into gear.

A penalty to Oldham led to Alex Jobson kicking a penalty to get the visitors back into the game.

Oldham further piled on the pressure when Littleborough sent a poor clearing kick straight into the hands of Tom Davies who fed Dambanevana who beat three Littleborough defenders to offload to captain Nick Hackman who then fed Jobson to score.

Jobson converted the extra two points to give Oldham a 10-5 lead.

This sparked Littleborough into life who then took a stranglehold of the game running in tries at regular intervals up to half time with the score 27-10 to the home side.

Playing up the hill on a surface that was cutting up was always going to be a hard task for Oldham in the second half.

Littleborough again had control of possession and territory making it hard for the visitors.

Oldham, try as they might, struggled with the Littleborough backline who always posed a threat.

Following some resolute defence Jobson again got on the scoresheet following an interception from the Oldham 22 metre line going the length of the pitch to score.

With the added conversion Jobson ended up scoring all of Oldham’s point for the afternoon.

With Littleborough scoring three tries late on it left the score at 52-17.

Whilst a disappointing scoreline, Oldham fought till the end.

A special mention for Ross Cooper who was Oldham’s MOM.

He showed experience and tenacity at the breakdown and in defence.

Oldham return to action in the new year with a trip to Hoylake on January 4, 2025.

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.