Tarleton U15’s v Bolton U15’s

Tarleton U15’s v Bolton U15’s
Lancashire Junior Rugby Challenge
League Stage Match 1
Away

Weather: Sunny

Final Score Tarleton 0 Bolton 30

Tries: McDermott x 2, Price, Atherton, Webster
Conversions: Price x 4

Bolton U15’s kicked off their competitive season with a great win away at Tarleton.

Bolton stamped their authority on the game from the start with Tarleton ‘s kick being caught clean then charged through by Oliver Keogh before a clean pass out to Harry McDermott to open the scoring. Only six minutes had gone when a Tarleton line out deep in their own territory was mishandled and Peter Webster, filling in at flanker, pounced and drove the ball over the line.

Bolton now had the game in their grip and a fine spell of play enabled debutant player Josh Moore to show his turn of speed and terrorise the Tarleton defence. This period of play resulted in captain Ben Price scoring a fine solo try, shaking off several tackles to break free and show a clean pair of heels.

At this point, Tarleton found their feet and enjoyed their best phase of the game, forcing multiple errors from Bolton and gaining territory with the resulting penalties. Bolton had to defend tirelessly to keep them at bay. With the last play of the half, Tarleton thought they had scored only for the referee to adjudge that the ball had been held up. Price had converted all three tries, resulting in a 21-0 scoreline going into the break.

The second half started much as the first, with Harry McDemott scoring the second of his two tries in the first minute. Then again, Tarleton fought back and there was an intriguing battle for territory for a ten minute period, with returning forward Jakob Kajut looking lively and contributing to a solid performance from the whole pack.

The back line showed great maturity with the combination between Leon Hodson and Keogh looking well oiled and Mark Glynn putting in solid work at fullback.

The game was put beyond Tarleton’s reach with a typically muscular try from Sam Atherton bringing the curtain down on a sparkling Bolton performance.

Bolton hope to continue this bright start to the season next week when they entertain Wigan at home in match 2.