then the people of Bolton should have 159 words for rain. If you can see the mast on Winter Hill, it is said, then it’s going to rain and if you can’t see the mast it’s already raining. Before Saturday’s match against Aldwinians the mast hadn’t been visible for a few days so it was always going to be a soggy affair – before the recent drainage work to the pitches it might have been an ankle-deep mud wrestle – but both teams served up a decent match given the conditions.

Bolton kicked off and early pressure led quickly to a Mike Mills penalty, but Aldwinians responded well and an innocuous situation near half way was turned into a kickable penalty by Bolton petulance and the scores were level at 3-3. It was then that the weather decided to go through its repertoire and the crowd was treated to everything from that fine rain that gets you wet to stair-rods via mizzle, drizzle and cats and dogs, and the game settled into a pattern whereby Bolton looked the likelier, but excellent work by the Aldwinians back row at the breakdown meant that the home team were turned over too many times to establish a platform as handling became more and more difficult. It was getting close to half time before Bolton were able to establish any sort of continuity and a catch and drive from a lineout saw Mark Chappelhow drive a well-organised maul over the line for the first try of the afternoon. This woke the home team briefly and from the kick off a trademark burst down the left by Louis Critchlow took them back into Aldwinians territory. Quick hands took the ball quickly to a surprised Chris Cockton wide on the right where he was having a sneaky breather, but the skipper was able to accelerate (this is not strictly accurate – “gradually gather momentum” is probably a better way of putting it) into a gap, draw the last defenders and find Lewis Lockett outside him for the winger to touch down for his first try for the club. Mike Mills converted to make the score 15-3 to Bolton at half time, not really a fair reflection of the game as the away team had stolen plenty of ball and had had their fair share of territory, although without really threatening.

The second half started in customary fashion with Bolton conceding an early penalty to bring the score back to 15-6, but then the home team started to exert pressure in the Aldwinians 22. After finding various ways of not scoring near the line in the face of resolute defence Bolton opted first for a penalty to extend the lead and then when the forwards had once more drawn a blank, Will Bate took matter into his own hands to brush off a couple of defenders and score in the left hand corner. Then came the moment of the match as a loose pass eventually found Lewis Lockett in the shadow of his own posts. Fabulous sleight of hand by the newcomer released Will Bate into space and when he had reached his absolute limit – 45 metres – he drew the final defenders to find Mike Mills in support on the inside. Mills sprinted under the posts for the bonus point try which he converted to conclude the scoring. Bolton relaxed and Aldwinians came back into the game as the home team tried the referee’s patience to earn a couple of yellow cards, but the defence held firm to see out the game.

The win takes Bolton to third in the league with a game in hand, but credit must go to Aldwinians who showed themselves to be a better side than their early form and league position would indicate. The return fixture will be a hard one and Bolton need to be able to protect the ball much better if they are to carry on their upwards push.

MoM – Louis Critchlow