Chaos then Calm

Chaos indeed as a motorway pile up caused a delay to the majority of the team, further compounding a selection headache and juggling game time.

Five minutes to go and we finally had a front row to start, Sean still in bed no doubt with his xBox. Against us a mixed bag of Warrington boys but still with the firepower and overall rugby ability to give us our hardest game of the year.

The pre match chat about playing to our training targets and not panicking if the inevitable Red, Green and White onslaught overwhelmed the boys wasn't needed. From the start the backs ran well and defended the early forays from warrington (Ill forgive you James H for your handling error - but you will pay this week). Out wide attacks were held and the back row foraged and smashed into the opposition with gusto,

Piers was like a jack in the box, popping up in rucks to secure ball and provide the platform for Josh Connah and James S to drive downfield. Concerns about the lack of last weeks props went out of the window and George Ethan and Connah bulldozed the Warrington pack back, only to be pulled up for "driving too far and hard" (The two old heads on the side lines could only shrug and pray for more.....).

Seb Donnelly, fresh from his man of the match performance the week before was immense out wide, causing mayhem and chaos with his uncompromising hits and bullocking runs.

Despite the continual onslaught, Warrington soaked up pressure and attacked with their usual verve and relentless style, Every mistake was punished, but a few errors left the Bolton boys with a get out of jail card. And so it went on unit the last few minutes of the half. Alastair H was told by the ref to wait to feed the ball in (not sure why), and in the resulting respite, Warrington took one against the head and whipped over the whitewash to go ahead.

All to play for in the second half now. Some mix up in the running order and we were now playing two halves instead of four quarters. This caused the coaches to make the usual faux pas with selection, and a bizarre lineup started the second half. Despite the chaos, Sean Carragher managed a sneaky try after his late arrival (but not before he made his usual mark on the game). Then it all started to unfold, Warrington brutally exposed the Bolton line to score three tries without answer, one from a scrum much to the dismay of nouveau scrum half Tom Platt.

Shaken from their slumber, the coaches popped onto the pitch for a word with the boys and reminded them the only roasting would be for letting their heads down and not sticking to the game plan. A quick switch round, and an even more bizarre forward line up ( only in the eyes of the uninitiated however - I had confidence in them all !!) kicked on to try and pull things round.

And boys did they pull it round. Seb switched to eight and Piers in midfield with Lewis seems to do the trick as Myles hobbled off injured. Matthew Morrison and Ben Harrop in the back row, wondering what the hell do we do now.

Ruck, Maul and play like men possessed was the simple answer, sweeping warrington aside in a 30 yard drive the highlight. Finished off by Seb Donnelly who fortunately remembered to pick the ball up after the dotted it down on the five yard line, it set the scene for a revival. From the kick off, lady luck smiled upon us and Warrington kicked off to Sean who now had a point to prove. Instead of his usual ballet dance and lazy off load, he decided to remind us of his unusual pace again. 60 yards he screamed down the pitch, with his opponents trailing g in his wake. As usual, the metronomic Lewis Picotn was not far behind and sneaked over to pull the scores close.

Anyway we lost again and still have a way to go on this journey ;-).

All parents who remembered our first encounter with Warrington two years ago will no doubt come away wondering where do we go next. Me too. Well done.