SHAW Street played host to an international contest on Saturday as Culcheth Eagles played host to a touring Dutch team.
In the end, the home side had too much for the Unicorn 13 as they ran out 42-14 winners in an eventful contest.
Greg Wilde and Jacob Maxted both scored twice for the Eagles, while the former was sin-binned along with an opposition player for an altercation which also saw namesake James Wilde sent off.
Before seeing red, Wilde had put in a man-of-the-match display by scoring a try and kicking four goals, with Darryl Appleby also adding a try and a conversion.
Charlie Hewitt and Joe Woolley were Culcheth’s other tryscorers in a game that saw forwards Jesal Patel, Colin Mitchison, Connor Gilluley and Dez Thompson shine for the hosts.
Meanwhile, Culcheth’s girls’ under 12s side warmed up for their first ever season with a friendly match against their Ashton Bears counterparts in the curtain-raiser to the open-age clash.
Having struggled in the first half against a strong visiting outfit, Culcheth regrouped in the second half and scored some excellent tries, with Olivia Leech and Amelia Redmond among the tryscorers.
The game eventually ended 40-26 in favour of Ashton, but the Eagles can take plenty of encouragement into their maiden campaign.
Amelia Redmond won the coach's player of the match prize, while the opposition picked out Olivia Leech and Elouise Cotter as their stand-outs for Culcheth.
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