BOLTON TAME TIGERS TO SECURE PROMOTION!!

Bolton fed off the energy of the crowd and started brightly, with man of the match Matthew Parrish commanding the first kick off. His power at the restart epitomised the forward momentum that the Bolton pack were enjoying in the early exchanges. This momentum also translated to the scrum, where the front row of Chris Mee, Captain Chris Cockton and Sam Hilton were exerting their authority.

It was from such a dominant scrum that Bolton opened the scoring with Parrish picking up from the Number Eight position to power over, Mark Doherty continued his excellent kicking form by adding the extra two. Bolton were 7-0 up within ten minutes and their early nerves appeared to have been allayed.

With their nerves diminishing, Bolton started to execute their trademark quick ruck ball, getting the ball into the hands of the irrepressible Ash Cooper and Will Bate, who were causing havoc in the loose.

It was after a typical break from Bate that Bolton added to their lead and further exacerbated Silloth's start on the back foot. After Bate had run the ball back after a Silloth kick, Bolton found themselves in the opposition 22 and after strong rucking by Dave Ormes and Tony McLaughlin, scrum half Nick Lever passed to his half back partner Doherty, who ghosted in under the posts. He converted his own try to give Bolton a 14-0 lead.

Bolton's attacking verve was not abating, as their Cumbrian opponents appeared powerless to stop their waves of attack. It was Parrish again who profited from the excellent hands of Gaz Pritchard, who had to leave the field soon after with a head injury. Parrish duly brushed off the hapless Silloth defenders to crash over. With their third try, the Cherry and Whites ended the half 19-0 in the lead.

The inevitable resurgence from a physical Silloth side began straight away in the second half, and Bolton found themselves defending for long periods in the second half, with Chris Mee and Marcus O'Donohoe epitomising the physical and enthusiastic defence Bolton have been showing in recent weeks.

Silloth were however unable to breach the Bolton line, and a further penalty from Doherty stretched Bolton's lead to 22-0 with twenty five minutes left.

Despite sterling defence, the pressure from Silloth eventually told, and they crossed over for a deserved try of their own. Bolton were to have the last say though, as Bate gathered a 22 drop out and proceeded to beat the would be tacklers to round off the season in style and cue raucous celebrations.

At the end of the match, a mixture of delight and relief filled the air at the Theatre of Trees, as Bolton confirmed their well deserved promotion. With many of the club's past players looking on, Bolton's current team, containing mostly home grown youngsters, celebrated knowing that all the hard work on and off the field this season was well worth the effort.