Watersheddings was the site of a former rugby league stadium in the Watersheddings area of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. Historically it was in Lancashire, lying on the A672 approximately 2 miles north east of Oldham town centre.
Origins
The stadium known as Watersheddings, named after the area of Oldham where it was located, was built in 1889. It was constructed on the east side of a reservoir, Ruby Mill and Longfield Mill and north of Longfield Lane. At the same time the Oldham Cricket Ground was built adjacent to the stadium on its east side and a lawn tennis ground was constructed on its north side. == History ==
History
Oldham Football Club (more commonly known as Oldham Rugby League Football Club) moved from their Clarksfield Ground and played their first match at the new Watersheddings stadium on 28 September 1889 against Swinton. The Watersheddings floodlights were used for the first time on Wednesday 20 October 1965, when a crowd of 6,333 attended an under-24 international between Great Britain and France. == Closure ==
Closure
The club left Watersheddings in 1997 and, now called Oldham R.L.F.C., moved to Oldham Athletic AFC's Boundary Park stadium before they moved to Whitebank Stadium in 2010. The Watersheddings site was redeveloped into housing now called Watersheddings Way and Hutchins Lane. == County games ==
County games
Watersheddings also hosted numerous county vs county games with Lancashire hosting various other county sides including the Rugby League War of the Roses matches against Yorkshire. The results were as follows: == Australia and New Zealand ==
Australia and New Zealand
The stadium, in its time, played host to many Australian and New Zealand national teams who played tour games against Oldham and the Lancashire county side, the first being against the 1907 touring New Zealand team, the last being against Australia in 1986. == References ==