Manchester U13s vs Bolton U13s

Match Report Manchester RUFC U13s vs Bolton U13s

Conditions - Sunny Dry and Warm - (Are we really in February?)

AKA the one where James Hopkinson broke his nose.

Bolton travelled to for our first every match against Manchester who normally play against Cheshire teams. The weather was glorious for a rugby match but the pitch was heavy underfoot. This didn't seem to slow the pace of the game down.

From the kick off Manchester pressed Bolton with strong running down the wings and only a last ditch tackle by Leon Hodson saved the day but not for long as the pressure continued and Manchester went over for the first try. During this attack in the corner James Hopkinson got a knock to his face and had to come off and went to hospital to have his nose straightened. Manchester repeated the process and scored two more with one of the fastest lads we've seen ran around everyone. This was all with the first 8 minutes and it was looking like a long day. But Bolton had other ideas and managed to hold onto the ball for long enough to take themselves all the way to Manchester's 5m line and it was a classic forwards battle of pick and go, recycle and eventually Sam Atherton went over. This rallied the troops to battle hard and it became a more even contest. Manchester break away and score but Leon Hodson is able to score by strong running from a free kick, shortly afterwards another break by him sent Ben Price through but he was was caught just before the line. Manchester break away again to score before one of the best moves of the match sees the ball passed from Sam McDowell passing to Ben Price who put Leon in for his second. Half Time - Manchester 6 tries to 3.

The second half was not as pretty a sight as the forwards battled hard to contain Manchester bigger and more mobile pack began to take it's toll. The relentless tackling but Connor Whittle, Levi Waite, Connor Winteringham and the rest of the forwards. Oliver Keogh was all over the pitch in attack and defence but Manchester were bigger and better and ran in 7 unopposed tries in the second half. The commitment was there but a few tired tackles left a the gaps to be exploited by Manchester.

Overall a gutsy performance but Bolton met a well drilled superior team today.

Final Score Manchester 65 : 15 Bolton

Mark Glynn
Leon Hodson
Oliver Keogh
Ben Price
Sam McDowell
Sam Atherton
George Jackson
Tom Jeal
Blake Griffiths
Oliver Belle
Oskar Chadderton
Connor Winteringham
Connor Whittle
Levi Waite
Cameron Halliday
Leo Hope-Barry
Tom Jenkinson
Shane Gillibrand
James Hopkinson