LEIGH RU Hawks, who were depleted by unavailability, made hard work of beating a strong Oldham side 10-7.

Playing against the elements in the first half, the Hawks struggled to contain the Oldham pack, who drove over the line from a lineout to give the only score of the half. The try was well converted from the touchline.

The introduction of Green, Lawrinson and Grimshaw at halftime added some much needed impetus to the team, and with an improved kicking game the Hawks gained some needed territory. Makinson and Krause began to link well and were well supported by the back-row trio of Travers, Boardman and Peters as Leigh began to retain some possession.

A clever kick by Krause into space allowed speedster Carson to chase and win the race to touchdown. Greenwood converted a difficult kick to level the scores.

With the scores tied, Leigh settled down and started to punch holes. Oldham began to infringe under pressure and allowed Greenwood a kickable penalty which he duly despatched to give the Hawks a slender lead which they hung onto in the final minutes for a hard earned victory.

Prop forward Howard gained man of the match for his tireless running, but yet again it was a solid and committed defensive performance that laid the platform for another league win.

Leigh Under 15s showed some determination against a strong Ormskirk side and were in the game until the final quarter. Ormskirk struggled to break through a solid Leigh defence until a lucky break gave them the lead. Leigh hit back hard but could not make the final pass to put someone clear.

Just before half-time Ormskirk stretched their lead to 12-0.

Leigh put in some good tackles from Fiendley, Roberts, Innes and Brown and they had good breaks from Sale, Davies, Parkinson and Stafford but they struggled to break the home defence. Ormskirk stretched their lead to 19-0 with a breakaway score but it was only as Leigh began to tire that they eased out of sight scoring three times in the final ten minutes.

Buoyed by two new players making their debuts - Chris Clarke & Danny Bateman - Leigh Under 14s took a full strength squad to Oldham.

Oldham led with an early penalty. However, once points were scored, Leigh gradually began to take control. Credit goes to the forwards, who worked well to win good ball particularly from driving rucks, with Peter Hilton successfully crossing the line.

With wind advantage in the second half and attacking on a much more firmer surface, Leigh played the game in Oldham's half. Peter Hilton increased the points margin, successfully crossing the line for his and Leigh's second try. With Leigh's backs able to play an expansive game, both Kieran Grundy and Jonathan Pownall finished excellent all round back play to make the game safe.

With head coach and five players missing and with home advantage conceded, Leigh Under 11s did wel to beat Ormskirk 19-7. Leighs points came from tries by Peet, Moorfield and Roberts and two conversions by Williams.

Leighs Under 10s put on a master class of rugby union, overwhelming a strong Ormskirk side. In a game where defences on both sides strated strongly Leigh produced some flowing moves which saw the ball going through many pairs of hands. An all round team performance left coach Steve Oultram happy.

Tries came from Matty Wilkinson 2, Deacon Monks, Nico Moorfield, Elliott Beaver and Ben Harrison, Best Defence was by Deacon Monks and Man of the Match was Connor Hulme.

The Under 9s first match of 2005 was against a large Ormskirk side. This was by far Leighs best performance of the season. The support play was excellent as was the tackling with the tackle of the match going to M Helme. Good work by the forwards T. Hall, M Helme and C Barlow allowed the backs to run in three tries scored by E Liku, G Lythgoe and S Carney. Player of the Match was Jonathan Thorpe and Tackler of the Match was M Helme.

A reshuffled Under 9s took to the field 10 minutes later against a fresh Ormskirk side. Try scorers were: S Carney 2 and E Liku, Player of the Match was R Urmston and Tackler of the Match Jonathan Thorpe.

A very good and entertaining game saw the Under 8s home side victorious against a very capable Ormskirk team. Four tries from McLoughlin gave him the man of the match award, Gannon and Jones always eager to impress with the ball in hand with Roddy taking the spoils for the top tagger, Whittingham, Thorpe, Hewitson and Lamb proved difficult to manage by Ormskirk and Platt finding his way more and more each game.

The U8's found it more difficult in their next game. Whittingham, Roddy, Gannon and Jones were on top defensively with Jones scoring five tries and Gannon two. Thorpe again played his part with Whittingham, Lamb and Platt all impressing in open play, Hewitson again solid all over the park.

Poor ball control in both half's cost Leigh Under 7s the game with turnovers on six occasions. Excellent defensive performances from Top Tagger Alex Ward (15) Tags and Jack Hulme (10) Tags, additional Tags from Cameron Rigg (3), Daniel Gregory (2), Peter Harte (2), Cameron Gallagher (2) and Joshua Wakeman (2). Top Try Scorer Joshua Wakeman (2) additional Tries by Jack Hulme and Cameron Rigg. Well supported by Thomas Davies and Robert Child. Man of the Match was Callum Green.

With an increase in the concentration levels from the first game and good support play the U7s were unfortunate not to get at least a draw in their next game.

Top Tagger was Alex Ward (7) Tags, additional Tags from Cameron Rigg (2), Peter Harte (2), Daniel Gregory (2), Jessica Jones (2), and Jack Hulme. Top Try Scorer was Cameron Gallagher (2) tries, with additional tries from Jack Hulme, Robert Child and Jessica Jones. They were supported well by Joshua Wakeman, Callum Green, Matthew Lee, Thomas Davies, Jack Webster, Jake Westwell and Jack Aspen. Man of the Match was Robert Child.