Sat 15th Nov 2008
Old Bedians 18 Bolton 19
Fylde 3rd 38 Bolton 2nd 7 Halbro Trophy 2nd Round
Bolton 3rd 28 Tarleton 2nd 7 Halbro Shield 2nd Round
Bolton 4th 12 Chester 3rd 36 Halbro Plate 2nd Round
Sat 8th Nov 2008
Bolton 10 Garstang 5
Ruskin Park 2nd 12 Bolton 2nd 43
Bolton 3rd 13 Ormskirk 4th 5
Preston GH 5th 14 Bolton 4th 14
Sat 1st Nov 2008
Didsbury Toc H 1st XV 18 v Bolton 1st XV 7
BOLTON continued their winless start to the league campaign with a narrow defeat at home to Didsbury.
The cherry and whites began on the back foot as Didsbury looked to assert themselves on the game, however Bolton managed to keep their Manchester counterparts at bay until twenty minutes in when the away side scored a breakaway try, just as it appeared Bolton were beginning to get o foothold in the game. To their credit Bolton rallied, and scored soon afterwards after an excellent thirty yard break from Winger Aaron Hayes allowed Danny Joseph the simplest of tasks to score under the posts. John Hodgkinson converted to give Bolton a 7-5 lead after half an hour. The score remained the same until a minute before the interval when Didsbury were awarded a penalty straight in front of the posts, which they duly converted to leave Bolton a single point behind at 7-8 at half time.
Didsbury came out firing in the second half, and despite a sterling defensive effort, from Sam Hilton and Mark Aspinall in particular, Bolton succumbed to the power of the Didsbury pack who scored two pushover tries in quick succession. Bolton spent the majority of the final quarter in the Didsbury 22, but couldn’t find the cutting edge to break through the Didsbury defence. Although another defeat will be hard to take for Bolton, there were definite signs of improvement, and if the side can find continuity in selection, the wins are bound to come, starting next week at home to Garstang.
Bolton 2nd 12 Leigh 4th 7
Aspull 1st 10 Bolton 3rd 38
Bolton 4th no game
Sat 25th Oct 2008
1st XV game postponed
Fylde 4th 15 Bolton 2nd 5
Bolton 3rd postponed
Bolton 4th conceded
Sat 18th Oct 2008
Furness 32 Bolton 3
Bolton 2nd 5 Ormskirk 2nd 13 Halbro Trophy 1st Round
Bolton 3rd 41 Village Spartans 0 Halbro Shield 1st Round
Bolton 4th 20 v Burnage 4th 19 Halbro Plate 1st Round
Bolton began the game very brightly putting huge pressure on the burnage pack with Barr and McGraph dominant at the break down. Bolton camped in the opposition 22 and probed the line. the Burnage scrum was struggling to maintain position and Bolton wheeled the scrum 5 metres out to ensure a Bolton put in. a solid scrum from Down, Robinson and Fox enabled good ball for the backs. Clarke ran a good crossfield line drawing the defence across and Braithwaite cut a line back inside from outside centre loopin round the back line. Braithwaite sived through the line with a neat side step and scored under the posts to open the score. The resulting conversion was missed. Burnage attempted to come back into it but awesome tackling from Mcgraph, Towler and Clarke left their attempts thwarted. Bolton pressured again and turned the ball over again at a Burnage scrum. Singleton broke from 8 and secured great ball with McGraph and Barr again dominating the rucks and mauls. Quick ball to the backs and Clarke fed early ball to Towler, with a quick pass, Walton burst through the Burnage centres and dived over line to make it 10 - 0. An injury to Lewin who went down having been shot by sniper caused Bolton to have to shuffle the pack and bring a veteran prop, Robinson, out to the wing. Burnage fought back as the half developed and won a penalty in kickable range. The penalty missed Bolton cleared the ball up the field but the Burnage back line ran a great play and crossed the line. a good conversion brought the half time whistle and a game poised at 10-7.
Bolton raised their game and more good work from Turner and co brought a scrum near the Burnage line. Jolly broke as he had all game and drove over the line to make it 15-7. Burnage then capitalised from Bolton going to sleep and the very pacey full back broke the line and scored a try in the corner. with 10 minutes to go the score stood at 15 - 12, Burnage moved up field despite excellent defence from Towler who smashed the open side flanker into next week, and earned a scrum just 5 meters out. the scrum half picked up the ball and played a neat chip over the Bolton backs and caught to score. he converted his own try to move to 19-15 with just 9 minutes on the clock. Boltons excellent pack went on the offensive with excellent interplay from Turner, Barr, Fox and notably McGraph who was playing like a man possessed. they carried the ball deep into the Burnage 22. Attack after attack was stopped by the burnage defence. Burnage managed to snaffle possesion but Towler smashed the inside centre and McGraph dived on the loose ball. the Bolton pack drove to the line but a knock on seemed to end the hopes of Bolton snatching the win they deserved. A scrum 5 to Burnage saw an awesome drive from Bolton they first drove Burnage of the ball and then drove them over the line to score. 20-19 to Bolton. the next 4 minutes saw awesome defence from the whole of the Bolton side and the final whistle blew on what was a great advert for rugby. Man of the match Paddy Mcgraph
Sat 11th Oct 2008
De la Salle 32 Bolton 8
Bolton 2nd 29 Vale of Lune 3rd 10
Following a hard fought and at times close run game, Boltons second team
claimed their first league win of the season.
After one of the worst starts to the season in the last 5 years, Bolton
hosted Vale of Lunes 3rd team at home. An impressive squad was unfortunately let down by a number of players with little or no notice, however the beginning of the game still saw a strong team of 15 with a couple of reserve players on the bench. The game started quickly with a quick play resulting in a score for hooker Cockton, not converted putting the score at 5-0 to Bolton. Vale quickly responded with their own score, which was directly attributable to poor work at the ruck (which needs to be addressed) and even worse tacking from the Bolton backline. McGill, returning from a 2 week holiday in the sun (and displaying a rather lacklustre tan!) had obviously missed his rugby and took the opportunity to score directly under the posts. Turner converted, 12-5. A welcome return to McDermott following injury saw him use a mix of strength and skill to power over the line and score a try, not converted. McGill then scored the second of a brace of tries, scooping from the back of a ruck and charging over the line - converted by Turner.
Bolton's final try was initiated by a magnificent run from second row Evans.
A number of players made crashing runs throughout the course of the day, but with the ball in hand Evans made a good 30 yards before being brought down... it seemed that the tackling vale player was unable to hold onto him, and a quick (ok not so quick!!) roll later Evans was back on his feet and charging at the opposition defence once again, eventually being brought down after 40 yards. Quick ball from the ruck saw the ball spread to back row
McDermott who ran in for his second try of the game. At this point, Vale looked beaten.
Returning for the restart their heads were down and they looked to have given everything they had. However to their credit they intensified their game and started driving the Bolton defensive line backwards. For a sustained period of time it looked as though a score was inevitable, however Bolton held firm and Vale were driven back. Eventually, following an error by Bolton - and a temporary blip in the commitment of the Bolton defensive line, Vale ran half the length of the pitch to score the final try of the game. Watching the game from the sideline, the team looked completely different. Much needed changes to the teams backline, combined with an aggressive pack and individual showmanship produced a performance worthy of the second team. Defence was for the most part tough, with some huge tackles going in from the Bolton team. Danny Barlow even made 3 tackles in a row, something which I've never seen before in an entire game.... never mind in a row!!! Bolton still need to work on their rucking, getting the ball out of the contact area quickly and playing the space, however these were minor issues in an on the whole great performance - and the team celebrated in style afterwards.
Fylde 5th 31 Bolton 3rd 5
Bolton 4th 24 Garstang 3rd 0
Garstang came down to Avenue St to play a Bolton team who for once were without any last minute changes.
The game got off to a good start with the Bolton pack driving Garstang back into their own 22 and after 15 minutes of pressure Barr went over for a well worked try 5-0. Straight from the kick off Bolton attacked again and a brilliant passage of play which saw interchanges between forwards and backs, Bolton again pressed for a try and Garstang couldn't hold out much longer and Robinson went over for a fine try, Clarke converted 12-0. Again Bolton attacked straight from the kick off and had 15 minutes camped in the Garstang 22 and after some slick handling Keogh showed his winger a clean pair of heels and went over in the corner 17-0. Half time.
The second half started with Garstang taking the offensive line and pushed Bolton back into their own 22 but some good tackling from McGrath,Griffiths, Brocklehurst and Towler who zero'd his man and hit him hard, not since Kennedy's assassination has a head been seen to snap back with such force! After taking everything that Garstang could throw at them Bolton pressed up field and some good work from Turner,Down, Braithwaite and the ball went quickly through the hands to Berry who scored on his return from injury. Keogh converted 24-0.
Sat 4th Oct 2008
Bolton 3 Eccles 35
Tyldesley 2nd 11 Bolton 2nd 10
Bolton’s second team travelled to second placed Tyldesley with a bare 15 players.
Player availability meant a good set of forwards and a beefed up back line, which is something that Bolton have been trying to find over the last few weeks - however a number of key personnel were still missing. Bolton started well, and it was clear that here we had the beginnings of a team who could begin to compete at a decent level with the other teams in their league. Bolton defended strongly against a number of attacks early on in the game, however they were fighting against both the wind and player indiscipline. This led to Tyldesley putting the first six points on the board following Bolton penalties. Bolton were quick to respond with a well worked try, with Chris Turner coolly adding the conversion points with a drop kick - putting the score at 7-6.
It was clear Bolton thought that the game was within their reach, and spent much of the second half firmly camped inside the Tyldesley half. A try from Tyldesley temporarily dampened spirits, putting the score at 11-7, however Bolton never let their heads drop and continued to apply pressure, with a number of crashing runs from Hackin and Sugden in the centres. Unfortunately as is often the case so far this season, Bolton could not convert the pressure to points, and became frustrated at their oppositions illegal handling of the ball on the floor. This resulted in a yellow card for scrum half Barlow, who decided to take the law into his own hands with a stamp on one of the opposition players. One man down, Bolton found themselves defending against strong attack, however their defence held firm.
With the return of Barlow to the pitch, Bolton once again began to surge forwards. Turner kicked a penalty to bring the score to 11-10, and it seemed inevitable that a try would come with time. Massive work from all of the Bolton forwards, led from the front by Captain Cooper, just couldn't break the deadlock, and the final whistle went. Despite the loss, Bolton can hold their heads high, and there is sign that the team and players are starting to come together. We're not quite there yet, but we're close, and are going to keep building - discipline is a key area, along with more aggressive rucking to ensure quick, quality ball at the ruck. As a team we also need to play to our strengths, but read the game better - with the wind behind us in the second half we should have used the huge boot of Turner more, and pressure the somewhat poor Tyldsley lineout - although special mention should go to Jonny Knock On in this area, who made a nuisance of himself all game. This week sees Bolton play vale of lune at home, and with the beer festival the team is hoping that friendly support will help them achieve the standard of play and victory that is so close.
Bolton 3rd 7 Vale of Lune 4th 11
Lostock 1sts 27 Bolton 4th 0
Bolton travelled the short distance to the shed at Aspull to play local rivals Lostock.
Bolton got off to a cracking start from the kick off when Clarke's kick was caught and run through to a good attacking position. Bolton were camped inside the home teams 22 for the next 10 minutes but failed to capitalise on their possession. The home team pressed out of their own half and showed some good rugby as should be by a first team but good tackling by Walton Kay Towler and Braithwaite in the backline halted the attacks which caused frustration in the home team. Bolton tried time and again to break through and score but lack of continuity in the team prevented a score from coming,and after another good attack a loose ball saw Lostock break away and score against the run of play. 5-0 Half time
The second half started with Lostock pressing hard but Bolton held strong with the pack playing a huge part in the defence with Down Turner Cruice and Tailor putting in some big tackles, Pete Walch back after 3 years away did his bit by lying on several members of the opposition which was just as effective. Then a key moment in the game when Walton had to leave the pitch, a bit of a reshuffle went on and from the next scrum the referee gave a very dubious penalty try."are we at Old Trafford" was the call as Bolton couldn't believe what had happened. 12-0. As with the previous week when a Bolton player went off lack of concentration or jealousy at a player getting to the bar early saw a few tries run in in a five minute period. After a little talking to Bolton rallied and for the next 20 minutes Bolton pressed the Lostock line and tried hard to get a score with new player Ian Fox at the forefront of the attack. Bolton had opportunities to go for penalties to put some points on the board, but the 4ths open rugby style of play dictated that a try was what was wanted. The game ended with the 4ths on top and pushing hard for the try but time had run out, it is the 3rd week running when late changes and the re-arranging of positions has cost Bolton a sure victory and once they have a settled team the 4ths will climb the league to the position the teams style and commitment deserves.
Sat 27th Sept 2008
Bury 30 v Bolton 18
BOLTON succumbed to a disappointing defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Bury.
The two clubs had not met for a while, but with Bury winning promotion last season, this eagerly anticipated fixture was back in the league calendar. Bury started the brighter of the two sides, as they attempted to impose their physicality on the Bolton pack. Bolton were up to the challenge however, and competed well at the set piece and at the breakdown. The problems for Bolton were in their inexperienced back line, who failed on more than one occasion to pick up the running lines of the Bury three quarters. Consistent Bury infringement resulted in a Yellow card after 20 minutes and Bolton capitalised with some quick ball, and some good running from James Brodie and Jez Rees. Despite Captain John Hodgkinson slotting over two penalties, Bolton’s poor defence in the back line consistently let them down, and Bury exploited the gaping holes in the away defence. At half time Bolton were lucky to be only 6 – 13 behind.
Bolton did manage two tries in the second period through Phil Caswell and Andy Leigh, and fleetingly came within seven points of Bury, but a frustrating mix of defensive errors and missed tackles contributed to what was a poor defeat against a side, who Bolton would usually consider to be beatable. At times, Bolton’s performance simply lacked the quality required to prosper at this level of rugby, but there were promising signs when the Cherry and Whites went forward, all of which was cancelled out by the team’s unsatisfactory defence. Bolton will be understandably down by such a defeat, but next week’s home fixture against arch rivals Eccles is the perfect opportunity to put right the mistakes in this game.
Bolton 2nd 5 Fleetwood 2nd 52
Garstang 2nd 10 Bolton 3rd 8
Bolton 4th 0 v Preston Grasshoppers 23
Bolton went down to a strong Preston side in a tough match on Saturday. Bolton started strongly but their forays were halted by an experienced Preston defence. 2 penalties were the only difference at half-time. As the second half started, Captain Derek Keogh had to leave the pitch with injury, and Preston took their chances, scoring two converted tries against 14 man Bolton. When the replacement finally arrived, Bolton stemmed the flow and held Preston to a sole drop goal for the remainder of the half.
Sat 20th Sept 2008
Bolton 0 v Trafford MV 16
BOLTON lost their first league match of the season, in a tight encounter at a sweltering Avenue Street.
The home side started brightly and found themselves in the Trafford 22, after an impressive run from debutant Jez Rees. The resulting ruck gave Bolton a good attacking platform, but as the ball was kicked through for the Bolton three quarters, it bounced fortuitously for Trafford, allowing the opposition flanker to run the length of the pitch to score. This was an unlucky start for Bolton, and a try very much against the run of the early play. The Cherry and Whites did re-group and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but some individual errors handed Trafford their second try after a missed tackle around the fringes of the ruck paved the way for the Trafford to stroll in over the Bolton line.
Despite being 10-0 down at half time, Bolton were certainly in the game, and continued to dominate the set pieces, with Captain John Hodgkinson controlling the line out from hooker.
Sam Hilton and Steve Knibb also contributed well in the loose, with full-back Dave Meir picking some good running lines, which led to some promising scoring positions, but Bolton were unable to produce the cutting edge needed to score, and Trafford added to their lead with two penalties. Bolton will certainly be disappointed with the defeat, but there were many positives to take into their next match away at local rivals Bury.
Pendle 1st 32 Bolton 2nd 0
Bolton 3rd 27 Fleetwood 3rd 0
Fleetwood 4th 53 Bolton 4th 24
Sat 13th Sept 2008
Bolton 1st XV 15 v 24 Orrell Anvils 1st XV EDF Energy National Cup 1st Round
BOLTON succumbed to their first defeat of the new season against a well organised Orrell side.
The away side started the brightest and had the lion’s share of possession in the opening quarter of the game, Bolton had no answer to Orrell’s enthusiastic start and their defence was soon breached, after the Orrell back line cut through the Bolton three quarters to score under the posts. Although Bolton were behind, they gradually fond their feet in the match and began to make some territorial gains, Orrell did however manage to score one further try in the first period, and Bolton found themselves 10-0 down at the break.
Bolton certainly re-grouped in the second period, but tries from Paul Sutcliffe and Keiron Hill weren’t enough to overhaul their deficit. Captain John Hodgkinson also contributed with a penalty and a conversion and although at one stage Bolton were on top, they were never able to get within one score of Orrell. Despite the disappointment of the defeat, Bolton can take encouragement from their second half performance, against a very good Orrell side.
Sedgley Park 3rd 50 Bolton 2nd 12
Kirkby Lonsdale 2nd 20 Bolton 3rd 20
Bolton 4th 36 Kirkby Lonsdale 3rd 21
On the day that summer finally arrived, Bolton Fours produced a 6-try display to get the season off to their best ever start. Kirkby Lonsdale arrived short of players so 2 players were loaned to even up the numbers. The missing players created more space than normal and Bolton took advantage to run in 4 early tries. Mark Turner strolled over for the first, with the second rower showing the hint of a shimmy to fool the last defender. Les Towler then intercepted to run over from 20 yards. Winger Ben Lewin scored two as his pace took him around the already stretched Kirkby defence. James Dean added 2 conversions. Kirkby pulled back a try as the half ended.
The second half was a similar story, but the summer heat was now telling on both sides. Two further tries were added, both by Anthony Walch. Kirkby, bolstered by the late arrival of one of their cars, pulled back two tries, but the game was already in Boltons pocket.
Sat 6th Sept 2008
All games POSTPONED due to waterlogged pitches !
Sat 30th Aug 2008
Bolton 1st XV 18 v 3 Clitheroe 1st XV
BOLTON progressed to the second round of the Lancashire Plate with a hard fought win over a physical Clitheroe side.
Having lost narrowly in the semi-finals last year, Bolton will hope that they can go one better and make the final this season. Under the watchful eye of stand in Coach Caspar Joseph, the Cherry and Whites started sluggishly, producing a series of handling errors, which allowed Clitheroe’s heavier pack to gain the early upper hand. The away side duly converted their early superiority into points scoring a penalty to make the score 3-0 to Clitheroe after 10 minutes. This early set-back appeared to galvanise the Bolton side, and they spent the rest of the half in the opposition 22. After an offload from Danny Joseph, debutant Mark Aspinall powered his way over the line, beating three despairing Clitheroe defenders. Captain John Hodgkinson converted to give Bolton a7-3 half time lead.
Although Bolton were in the lead, their was certainly room for improvement on their first half performance, and with their opponents visibly tiring, the home side took control of the match in the second half, with James Brodie and Pete Brogan in particular coming to the fore. Following a prolonged period of pressure in Clitheroe’s half, full-back Dave Meir rounded off a slick backs move to score in the corner, the conversion was missed, to leave Bolton 12-3 in the lead. Bolton’s lead was extended by two penalties from Hodgkinson, to give a final score of 18-3.
Bolton were certainly not at their best, and will need to perform much better if they are to beat Orrell Anvils on Saturday in the first round of the EDF Energy National Plate, Kick Off is at 3pm at Avenue Street.
Bolton 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams start their season next weekend, with games in the Mill e Homes league.
New players are always welcome at Bolton Rugby Club.
In 2007 Bolton won the RFU Presidents Award for the best school links programme in the country. In 2008 Bolton came runner-up in the RFU Presidents Awards for the best Social Inclusion projects in the country. In both years they were the ONLY club in Lancashire to even get a mention !
Junior Rugby
Sunday 31st August was the first Sunday of the new season. Over 120 players turned up for the first training sessions, including 15 new players. The next couple of weekends should see numbers up to nearly 250 as more players return from summer holidays.
This season the club will be running 12 junior teams ! From Under 8’s up to Under 16’s, a Girls Under 15’s team Two Colts teams , Under 17’s and Under 19’s, complete the list. Each team has at least 2 qualified coaches.
The Colts teams start their league games next weekend, with the Under 13, 14, 15 and 16’s starting their matches two weeks later with an invitation to the prestigious Lexus tournament which will be held at Sandbach Rugby Club.
Any new players should turn up on Sundays mornings at 10.30am
20 year reunion
This season sees the 20th anniversary of the move to Avenue Street, off Chorley Old Road and the building of the Mortfield Pavilion clubhouse. It is also 20 years since the 1st team won the RFU North Lancashire league in its inaugural season. At this years Former Players Lunch, to be held on Saturday 11th October, it is hoped that many of those involved in both successes will return to enjoy the current facilities.
Contact the Club on 01204 363710 or play@boltonrugby.co.uk
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