Unbeaten Thirteen - Lucky For Some

Bolton entertained third place Wigton at The Avenue on Saturday. It was Bolton’s last home game of the season and also the Former Players’ lunch. Bolton served up another winning performance for the spectators.
The previous time the two sides met, early in December, was the last time Bolton lost. That had been a very close game, so this time was going to be no different. Both sides started the game trying to obtain the advantage. In the early exchanges Bolton had the slight edge. Wigton worked hard in defence but in the tenth minute Will Bate made a lovely break (with Gareth Evans in support), was tackled just before the line and managed to off-load to Jack Robinson who scored. Joe Speakman added the conversion. Bolton played very good rugby; they were moving the ball effectively, keeping Wigton pinned in their own half. They had one or two chances to score but good tackling and poor decision making kept them out. In the thirtieth minute Chris Cockton took an interception pass and cantered towards the Wigton line. Some great support and inter-passing led to Danny Joseph scoring. Joe Speakman added the conversion. The next Bolton score came in the thirty-sixth minute when Bolton won a line-out and Will Bate went on the outside of his opposing player to make space for Joe Speakman to score in the corner. The final score of the half went to Jack Robinson in the fortieth minute. Wigton were in Bolton’s twenty-two and they knocked the ball on. Swift kicked the ball forward, then Jack Robinson kicked twice more and beat the defence to the touch down. Joe Speakman added the conversion.
Half time score: Bolton 26 Wigton 0
Bolton started the second half in the same manner that they had finished the first half. In the forty-third minute when the backs moved the ball quickly into space, Josh Holmes off-loaded the ball to Joe Speakman to score. In the fifty-first minute, Bolton had a scrum on the Wigton twenty-two and James Singleton seemed to just waltz his way through the Wigton defence to score under the posts. Joe Speakman added the conversion. Wigton were starting to come back into the game. Injuries to Rhys and Gaz Pritchard and Alex Waddicar made the game slightly more challenging for Bolton. Bolton stepped off the throttle a bit during the next period of the game allowing Wigton to score three tries in the fifty-fifth, fifty-sixth and seventieth minutes. Fair play to Wigton; they worked hard for these tries.
Final Score: Bolton 38 Wigton 17
Bolton have attained thirteen successive wins which is a great achievement for the whole squad. They have two games left to play in the league and hopefully they can retain their second place in the league. The Man of the Match was Joe Speakman.