Hutton Side too Strong for Injury Hit Bolton

Bolton were forced to field an under strength side due to players still being away on holiday and an injury list that seems to have no end. However Bolton were determined to make the most of a bad situation and progress further in the cup and get the season off to a good start.

Preston based Hutton proved to be too strong for the scratch Bolton side and played a fast and physical game of rugby that overwhelmed Bolton's normally hard-hitting, strong tackling defensive game crossing the line several times to seal a convincing 45-0 win.

There were bright signs for Bolton with the backs, particularly with captain Greg Abbott and winger James Howarth looking strong with the ball in hand, and making some impressive gains through the defence. However the Hutton defence was too disciplined to be broken and they repelled all of Bolton’s forays toward the try line

The Bolton forwards fought to retain as much ball as possible, but were overwhelmed by the larger Hutton pack particularly in the scrum. Although the Hutton lineout looked weaker than their scrum, Bolton could not make this pay dividends and couldn’t apply enough pressure to make it count.

The game was not without positives however with many of the players coming through to make their first team debuts in this, probably their toughest game of rugby to date.

The season starts in earnest this weekend and all 4 teams starting will be kicking off their league campaigns, with the first team playing away at Salford based outfit De La Salle in what will surely be another tough physical game. With the lessons learned from this weekend I am sure it will be a great game.