Northern Division – South Lancs and Cheshire Division Two

Wigan 8, Oswestry 12

Oswestry travelled to the Douglas Valley ground in Wigan and found a large number of home supporters expecting their side to do well.

But the Eagles had other ideas and started as they meant to go on, winning the toss and electing to face the kick-off as Andrew Smith caught the ball and immediately went on the attack supported by his pack.

Wigan produced the first penalty which allowed Luca Owen-Youens to make good ground but Oswestry then knocked the ball on giving the home side their first scrum which they won and mounted an attack. Desperate defending by Callum Crutchley and Nickola Nickolov prevented Wigan from scoring.

A difficult passage of play followed with Wigan trying to dent holes in the Oswestry defence line. Luca Owen-Youens made some excellent clearance kicks and every time he saw a gap he always made great yardage using his speed and strong hand-offs to give Oswestry a chance to mount an attack into the Wigan half.

Tom Roberts who was making his debut for Oswestry showed his worth by making good tackles to help Oswestry stay in the game.

The heavy tackles took their toll on Tom Roberts who suffered a leg injury, although he played on after treatment, but then Oswestry gave away a penalty kick and Wigan scored three points to break the deadlock.

A missed penalty kick saw half-time come but it ended on a high note as Oswestry made some good attacks into the Wigan half.

The Eagles continued where they left off but the constant pressure resulted in Roberts being hurt again, although he still continued to play, before a penalty and a scrum saw Nicholov passing to Tudor Jones who charged for the line with a number of Wigan players desperately holding him up preventing him from scoring a try.

The referee awarded a five-metre scrum as Roberts passed the ball to captain Andrew Smith who charged for the line to score – and also making him the top try scorer this season so far – although it was not converted.

Oswestry were full of confidence now and they continued to press hard as Gareth Ellis managed run a try in under the posts and Luca Owen-Youens kicked the conversion.

Wigan were trying to get back into the game with their supporters trying to lift the players. Wigan were mounting attack after attack and it finally took its toll on Roberts who limped off the pitch, as Wigan managed to score a corner, the conversion was missed.

With only minutes left Oswestry were put under immense pressure and conceded two penalties while Callum Crutchely was given a yellow card.

But the Eagles held on for the win moving them up to fifth in the league, while man of the match was awarded to Luca Owen-Youens for a great performance.

n Oswestry now face a difficult fixture at home against the league leaders Liverpool Collegiate on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Howell & Co Division 4 South of Raging Bull League

Oswestry 2nds 26,

Northwich 3rds 20

It was a double for Oswestry at the weekend as the Oswestry Seconds also took a win at Granville Park.

The side had welcomed Northwich 3rds for a middle-of-the-table battle, but they came out on top winning by six points to keep them away from the relegation zone.

This weekend they make the short journey to Whitchurch 3rds.