Seven From Seven

Bolton entertained Burnley at The Avenue this weekend and came out worthy winners to continue their unbeaten run in 2018 to seven. It was a dry day but the pitch was very wet as heavy rain had fallen during the week.
The match started well with both sides trying to dominate. Bolton started rather sluggishly allowing Burnley room to run with the ball. It took until the twenty-first minute for Ben Cottam to break the deadlock. He picked up the ball from a five metre scrum and drove over for Bolton’s first try which Louis Lockett converted. The next try came within five minutes when Louis Lockett made a break and off loaded to Ryan McClusky who dived over. Louis Lockett converted again. In the thirtieth minute Bolton’s Louis Critchlow ran hard whilst fending off defenders to score and Louis Lockett added the conversion. Burnley came straight back from the re-start and scored a well worked try in the thirty-first minute. The final score of the half, in the thirty-seventh minute, went to Ben Cottam again.
Half-Time score Bolton 26 Burnley 7
The second half began with Burnley getting an interception try from the kick-off. Then Bolton settled down and started to play some good rugby. In the forty-sixth minute Will Bate scored a very good individual try from a break from a lineout on the ten-metre line. In the fifty-forth minute Ben Cottam scored his third try by taking a quick penalty and Louis Lockett added the conversion. Bolton forwards were tackling well and putting Burnley under a lot of pressure. In the fifty-seventh minute Mark Chapplehow scored a great try from some good off-loading and Louis Lockett kicked the conversion. In the sixty-first minute Manny Tailor went over in the corner after excellent handling skills. Again Louis Locket added the conversion. The last of Bolton’s tries came in the sixty-sixth minute with Louis Lockett making a good break and strolling in for a try which he converted. Burnley had the last say in the match by scoring a try in the seventy-sixth minute.
Full time Score Bolton 59 Burnley 17
In places Bolton played entertaining rugby and there were some brilliant individual tries. Burnley played well in phases yet Bolton dominated for most of the game. Bolton, perhaps did not start as well as they could have done and with better execution they should have scored a few more tries. It was very pleasing to avenge the defeat by Burnley earlier on in the season.
The Man of the Match was Ben Cottam.