Bolton Crumble In Carlisle

After the white wash last week against Workington, it seemed that Bolton had flipped a switch and were starting to play for each other and the shirts they wore. Last week's defence was exemplary (with Workington unable to put points on the board) and Bolton went into this game full of confidence in their attack too after scoring close to 100 points last week. Despite the journey north they were quietly optimistic.

However, Carlisle is a long way and their team have started the season with a bang, putting in some great performances against strong teams. It was always going to be a different story to Workington. Bolton needed to start the game quickly and the pressure was on to stay sharp after the lengthy coach trip. Alas, confusion on the exit strategy put Bolton's fly half Mike Mills under pressure right after the kick off. And with a blaring wind cutting through the pitch, he tried to keep his kick low. Too low. The kick was charged down and after a swift recovery Bolton found themselves 7 points down after just one minute. Bolton were reeling after the sudden blow and a mixture of nerves and unfortunate mishaps, including a further charge down, allowed Carlisle in for another try.

Bolton fought back well initially and had a good chance to get a try back, having worked hard to get into the opposition's 22 and give themselves an opportunity to score. However, again it came down to a simple dropped pass that ended the attack and once more Bolton were on the defensive. The story of the day was Carlisle using their solid structure, elusive backline and clinical finishing to score try after try, meanwhile Bolton (whose defence had been so effective last week) were missing opportunities. And tackles. Despite some better play and strong running from Bolton's forwards in particular Nick Duncan and Gaz Pritchard and with Mike Mills at 10, Bolton still couldn't quite get the try. They did at least get some points on the board and Mills slotted a well earned penalty. However, at this point Carlisle had now scored 4 tries in total with a few conversions to boot. Even with Carlisle being down to 13 men at one point, Bolton still couldn't capitalise.

As the second half began, Bolton were backed by the wind and after a stern word from captain Rhys Pritchard and coach Dave Crouch they were fired up to play some proper rugby. Carlisle were immediately put under pressure from the restart and the intensity had been raised. The game became much tighter with fewer mistakes on both sides. But the damage had been done and Carlisle had huge support and the confidence that comes with a safe scoreline. Despite the score Bolton kept fighting and after coming close a few times, they were finally rewarded with a try that came through the unlikely source of new forward Nick Duncan. Bolton were near Carlisle's 22 and had gained some momentum. After a strong, line-breaking carry from Gaz Pritchard, Nick was there in support to take collect the offload and finish off a passage of play that was the only light in a very dark tunnel for Bolton. It was to be too little too late. For at this point Bolton had also lost a flanker in George Wilkes and their scrum half, Harry Stocks to injury. Due to a lack of player availability, they only had two forward substitutions and soon they had a flanker on the wing and a winger at scrum half. Although both subs made a positive impact it was never going to be enough and as Bolton put everything into the end of the game, Carlisle finished with another set of opportunistic scores. It had turned into a well deserved and ill-fated rout. Bolton were not quite back to the drawing board but they certainly had a lot of thinking to do as the dust settled. On the other hand, Carlisle gain some momentum in this hard fought battle at the top of the league.