The Fox and Pine, fast becoming a town-centre hub for all things Oldham Rugby, will host the Tuesday lunchtime rugby ‘family’ sessions on a permanent basis.
Joe Warburton got it going at Heyside Cricket Club, stressing that it was a weekly talk-in for EVERYBODY with an interest in rugby league in this area, at all levels, and it runs each Tuesday from 12.30pm for about 90 minutes or a touch longer.
It grew while at Heyside and has now become an important and regular feature on the local rugby league scene’s sporting social calendar, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
The main thing to remember is that you don’t need necessarily to be a player or supporter of the Roughyeds. It’s for anyone who wants to meet like-minded people for a chat about rugby league in Oldham and it does.t matter a jot whether you are, or were, a player or a fan of the town’s pro club or, indeed, a player or a fan of one of our many community clubs, or indeed anyone with an interest in sport generally and rugby league in particular.
As Joe is secretary of our Players’ Association it is hardly surprising that John Watkins and Ray Hicks share his enthusiasm for this “open to anyone” project which is regarded as a big mental stimulant, given that TALKING is known to be a massive help for anyone feeling ‘down’ and under-valued.
Said Ray, well known locally as a former player at Watersheddings, once the coach of Saddleworth Rangers, the father of leading RFL official and former top referee Robert Hicks, and for many years mine host at the Three Crowns in Scouthead:
“The Tuesday get-togethers, all welcome, just turn up for a meet-and-greet session with fellow rugby league people, are going from strength to strength.
“We have been at Heyside CC for a while and we’d like to place on record our thanks to them for accommodating us so well. We have had to move the venue or the day because of opening-time changes at Heyside and we have taken the decision to move permanently to the Fox and Pine given that we had our event there last Tuesday and, for whatever reason, there was a fantastic turn-out, easily our best yet.”
So there it is, the Fox and Pine, Greaves Street, Oldham next Tuesday and subsequent Tuesdays at 12.30pm!
