The rugby pitch was a scene of chaos....

Huddersfield YMCA U13s crossed the Pennies to visit Bolton. Bolton “resting” many of its players in advance of a semi final next weekend decided to play a less experienced squad.

It was clear from the first 60 seconds that Huddersfield wanted to play an expansive game with their winger ripping our defence apart and looking like a certain try scorer until James Sharples “of old” decided to tackle him so hard he almost returned him back to Yorkshire. Unfortunately the referee deemed the tackle high and awarded a penalty, but James received the applause of his team mates and coaches.

Bolton’s back line lacked structure and at times in the first half it presented Huddersfield with many opportunities to exploit. However, the more established Bolton front three of Sean Carragher, Ethan Greenwood and Connor Mansfield decided to stop Huddersfield going forward.

Our scrums suffered as our second row found it difficult to adapt to a weighty Huddersfield scrum. Once settled we dominated the set piece with Ben Harrop showing guts and determination at 8 with a pick up from the scrum that placed Bolton in a try scoring position. Tries from Seb Donnelly, Sean Caragher and Lewis Picton came in quick succession… Seb showing a clean pair of heels to the opposition and running almost the full length of the pitch.

If the first half was fragmented, then the second half saw a better structured Bolton squad. Jake Rimmer at 10 controlling the play with some decisive calls and runs. Al Harris at 9 really harassed his opposite number, having a great game until he decided to kick at close quarters direct to the oppositions hands. This was one of the few times Huddersfield pressurized Bolton, apart from when Bolton’s hooker Ethan Greenwood decided to introduce a sub lateral run, tat thankfully was cleared but by Oliver Carbery.

Huddersfield decided to try and kick into space, but each time their kick was met by Tom McNulty at 15 who decided to have gutsy runs back at the opposition. Making some late substitutions to enable players to have some play, saw Joel Matthews and Oliver Carbery have some blistering runs.

Far too many tries to mention and far too many players who who really stepped up today, but special mentions to; Piers Skeels-Coldwell who showed the Yorkshire side what a terrier can do in the loose, James Sharples for his aggressive play and commitment in broken play and James Harris who played the whole game for Huddersfield and stopped a try or two. Man of the Match goes to Ben Harrop for his pick up from the scrum and his “in your face” efforts against the opposition.