Better side nail victory

Bolton 11 Widnes 27

Bolton welcomed Widnes to The Avenue last weekend in the RFU Cup. Bolton hadn’t played Widnes for a couple of seasons. The weather was a ‘wrap up warm’ day, with a biting wind blowing across the pitch. After some overnight frost, the pitch was inspected and everyone was ready to play.

The game started with both sides trying to dominate; it became clear that Bolton the upper hand in the scrums and Widnes had the upper hand in the tackle. Widnes opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute. In the tenth minute, Rhys Pritchard levelled the score kicking a penalty. In the twentieth minute, Widnes kicked another penalty. Rhys Pritchard levelled the scores again in the thirtieth minute. It was a very close game with both sides having chances to increase their scores. Just before half time, Will Bate was yellow-carded for a high tackle. Bolton lacked a bit of concentration and this allowed Widnes to score two relatively easy tries in the thirty-eighth and fortieth minute.

Half time score: Bolton 6 Widnes 20

Almost immediately after the half time restart, Widnes scored their third try and added the conversion. Bolton tried hard to break down the Widnes defence but found it difficult. Bolton was able to dominate in the scrums and this did help them to retain the ball. Widnes hit the rucks hard and their flyhalf distributed the ball, kicked very well and put Bolton under pressure. It wasn’t until the final ten minutes that Bolton showed some endeavour and was rewarded a try in the seventy-eighth minute; Danny Joseph scored after a lot of good pressure from the forwards and a nice break by Will Bate.

Full time score: Bolton 11 Widnes 27

On the day Widnes were the better side and took their chances well. Bolton put together some good passages of play, but they were not consistent enough to get the victory.

Man of the Match: Paul Leigh