I grew up in Watersheddings, Oldham through the late 1960's to the mid 80's. Amateur rugby league was our 2nd religion, my dad and his 3 brothers were all obsessed with either playing, coaching or just watching.
My male cousins all played & my cousin Mark played for a side called St Annes who played some pretty key fixtures in the days before Superleague.
My enduring memories of those times are of the ground at Watersheddings and playing under the old wooden stands - and yes I mean stands - no sitting then! no corporate boxes, no pre-match entertainment - just the game.
You used to be able to get all the way round the old stands by shinnying down the gaps in between the steps. We ran about playing and teasing the spectators from the soles of their boots and the hems of their trousers. The noise was intense, hob nails on wood, the stamping, the cheering, the booing.
Then, the rush of the tackles and oh - those scrums - when, as the players locked on, you got the measure of the sheer size of those thighs, covered in the mud, welts and scars of the game, the game for the Roughyeds.
Karen Chiverall
Memory added on January 22, 2013
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