Despite the score line Southport offered strong resistance in the opening exchanges and showed a dogged desire for the majority of the game. From the kick off Southport ran hard at Bolton and Chris Mee was the first to feel the full force of the seasiders as he took a clattering from the opposition number 7 as he claimed the ball from the kick off. Fortunately, Bolton were able to maintain possession and set about their game plan.

Early runs from Gaz Pritchard in his favoured position at number 8 and Ash Cooper got Bolton on the front foot but small errors kept costing them the ball. The first 5 minutes passed with a number of scrums to either side without any real domination being shown.

Eventually Bolton got a foothold in the game and their backs division showed their class to find the first score. The ball found its way across the park and into the hands of James Singleton. Singleton’s dart found the gap and a pass out of the tackle to Mark Doherty, joining the line from full back, had Bolton registered their first score of the day.

Bolton were now on top and once again the forwards found themselves on the front foot. A clean line out followed by a number of bullocking runs from the likes of Chris Mee and Simon Frost set up the ball nicely for scrum half Andrew Crimmins, who heard the call from winger Rhys Pritchard to switch the play and obliged sending Pritchard in for his first score. Some lack defending allowed the ball to be dotted down under the sticks and the conversion to be slotted by Doherty.

Despite only 20 minutes having been played, Nick Holmes decided to make his first change of the day bringing off Ash Cooper for debutant Rick Newman. From a Southport scrum, Bolton managed to steal the ball and Pritchard broke from the base. Crimmins fed his fly half Singleton who found Will Bate in the middle of the park. Bate set about making mincemeat of the opposition defence but was eventually felled by several defenders way beyond the gain line. Quick recycling from the forwards pack once again provided front foot ball and Singleton found himself with 2 players in support and only the full back to beat. Miraculously he trucked the ball in and was eventually penalised for holding on allowing Southport to clear their lines.

From a Bolton lineout, Louis Critchlow secured clean off the top ball which was immediately thrown wide to Will Bate. He shook his first defender, handed off his second and off loaded from the 3rd to Doherty. Doherty straightened and found Mike Richardson steaming in down the touchline, but he was eventually bundled in to touch by good cover defence. Pressure at the lineout from Nick Sandbrook forced Southport to box kick but this was dealt with easily by Doherty who saw Pritchard in open space down the left flank. With the ball in his hands, Pritchard still had plenty to do but his weaving figure cut a gap between the winger and number 8 to see him go over and touch down for his second try under the sticks.

With three tries in the bag and Southport noticeably easing off, Bolton now took control and a further score ensued from 2nd row Louis Critchlow. The final few minutes of the half went by with Bolton always looking like they could get on the score sheet. On the odd occasion that Southport did attack, they met with stern defence, epitomised with the bone crunching tackle put in by Mee & Sandbrook on the Southport number 5.

At half time Nick Holmes called for more of the same and handed Mike Mills his chance to shine bringing him on for Dave Bruen in the centres with Bate moving to 12. Andrew Murtagh was also brought into the action with Richardson making way for his ginger counterpart.

Bolton restarted playing towards the club house. Murtagh immediately found himself in the action with a strong run up the centre of the field.

Soon after, Bolton found themselves defending against a Southport team keen on trying to upset the Apple cart. A Bolton scrum 5m from their own line was put under pressure and whilst Nick Holmes screamed till he was blue in the face to clear the ball, Bate had other ideas. He jinked two tackles in his own dead ball area, broke a 3rd tackle and offloaded to Rhys Pritchard who proceeded to follow suit and beat several defenders before being brought down just inside the 22. Crimmins cleared the danger with a deep kick from the base of the ruck.

A good kick chase kept Southport under pressure and eventually the ball was turned over thanks to the relentless work of back row Newman, impressing on his club debut. Once the home side utilised their impressive back line and brought Mike Mills into the action. His first touch on the ball saw him fix his defender and put Murtagh in at the corner for the 1st score of the half.

Mills was soon involved once more, this time adding his name to the score sheet. A break from Newman opened up the defence. Slick hands found bate in the Centres who put in a delicate grubbed to counter the attempted blitz defence. Mills held his nerve to scoop up the ball and drop over the line for another 5 pointer.

Scores were now coming thick and fast and the crowd didn't have long to wait for the next one. The forwards once again provided the platform and Bate with ball in hand spotted Newman out wide in space. A pin point 20m pass put the debutant in at the corner for an easy score.

At this point Bruen, Cooper and Richardson were re-entered into the action for Frost, Gaz Pritchard and Crimmins with Bate moving to 9, Newman into 8 and Richardson having his first punt in the forwards at second row. Further tries from Singleton and Doherty added to the total and with Doherty slotting 6 of his 9 kicks to take the score to 57-0. With only a couple of minutes left, Gareth Evans was involved in an altercation with one of the opposition that saw both players sent to the bin. A knock on a few minutes later meant Chris Cockton had to enter the field for the scrum and the game ended just moment later with a Southport knock on following a free kick for an early push from the Bolton pack.