Bolton Come Out on Top in Bruising Birchfield Encounter

Given the extremely wet conditions, the game was kept very tight, with Birchfield happy to kick for field position. Bolton dealt with this well, with James Howarth particularly comfortable under the high ball.

The home side began to dominate at the set piece, and as a result got some quick ball, which was used to good effect. With Matthew Parrish and Louis Critchlow in particular making some good runs.

Before the match, Bolton had decided to move the ball away from the contact area and Birchfield’s big pack, which was done very well by stand in scrum half Rick Sandbrook and flanker John Keech.

Bolton did get their reward, after a prolonged period of pressure in the Birchfield 22, Chris Flanagan bundled his way over to score what was to be the only try of the match.

Tom Price also added a penalty in the first half, to give Bolton a 8-3 lead at half time.

Birchfield rallied in the second half and spent almost the entire third quarter in Bolton territory. The Cherry and Whites defended well though, repelling every attack with strong tackling from Ash Cooper and Sam Hilton in particular.

With Birchfield running out of ideas, Bolton found themselves in their opponents half more often and were able to convert two further penalties, giving them a 14-6 victory.

It was a tough, physical encounter and will stand Bolton in good stead for next week’s away match against North Manchester.