Bolton back to winning ways at Garstang!!

...and get themselves out of the relegation battle. Previous matches had always been close fought encounters between these two teams with Bolton having the upper hand so far this season following a last minute try from Vice-Captain Danny Joseph to seal the victory at Avenue Street.

With the weather not seeming to affect the Garstang area Bolton arrived in the knowledge that a win would take them up to 9th position.

Following a long discussion between the players and coaches in the changing room Bolton came out onto the turf for a short and sharp warm up before heading straight into the game. Unavailability saw veteran Pete Brogan returning at 7 and in at 6 was Louis Critchlow fresh from injury looking to dominate in the loose.

Bolton took the kick to start and an incredible chase from old-timer Pete Brogan put Garstang under immediate pressure by winning the ball for Bolton. Quick ruck ball saw Bolton attack the blind side and begin to look like the team of old but a poor final pass saw the chance squandered and the scrum put in given to the home side. Step up the ever present and ever dominant Bolton forwards who once again showed their superior scrummaging skills to demolish the Garstang pack and turn over the ball. Attacks from the Bolton backline were continuously snuffed out by resolute defending from the home team, in particular the Garstang inside centre. Once such attack saw Rhys Pritchard step the bulkier centre pairing of Garstang to see him one-on-one with the full-back. A looped pass intended for number 8 Ash Cooper was however intercepted by the back tracking Garstang scrum-half who then proceed to mount a counter attack against an un-organised Bolton back line. Slick handling from Garstang saw their number 10 go in under the posts for the days opening score. Conversion slotted and score 7-0.

Again a good chase from the kick off saw Brogan secure ball for Bolton and constant pressure saw Bolton win a line-out opportunity from 10 metres out thanks to the boot of returning full-back Mark Doherty. Bolton looked to set up the drive and contain the Garstang forwards but quick thinking from scrum-half Mike Singleton saw him put Louis Critchlow one-on-one with the home sides fly half ony 5 metres from the line. No question as to who won that battle, unfortunately the conversion was missed and Bolton still trailed by 2 points. 7-5.

Half time came and the score remained at 7-5.

Bolton started the half with a knock-on from the kick off but once again the pack won back the ball against the head to re-claim possession. Bolton’s reshuffled backline then began to probe at the Garstang defence with Pritchard leading at 10. Infringements at the breakdown kept providing Bolton with opportunities for points but unfortunately these were not converted and handed possession back to Garstang. Following their kickers poor record for the day Bolton opted for the corner from one such penalty in order to gain the 5 pointer. Once again infringements from Garstang

provided Bolton with an unmissable opportunity infront of the posts which was duly converted to but Bolton in front 7-8.

This score seemed to shake Garstang into action as they began to move down the field thanks to good support play and quick rucking. As they began to establish their territory Bolton gave away a penalty 30 metres out in front of the sticks which was duly converted by their number 10. Knowing the importance of this game seemed to give Bolton new life and the cherry and whites looked to respond to this score immediately, once again their dominance at the scrum created attacking opportunities that were not always capitalised on by the Bolton back line. It should be said at this point of the disappointing refereeing at scrum time, at one point Bolton were blown up for “engaging to vigorously” to which the referee was then unable to provide a clear explanation of his decision. On more than one occasion Boltons dominance deserved to be rewarded with penalties but many of these decisions were unfortunately missed by the match day official. Never the less, one final penalty decision did come Bolton’s way and the 3 pointer was slotted to give Bolton a slender 1 point lead.

The final play of the game saw Garstang with a scrum 5 metres out, Bolton knew that once again they would have to look to turn over the ball and finish the match if they were to avoid a last minute defeat. However, an uncharacteristically strong scrum from the home side saw clean ball fed to their 10 who was lining up for the drop goal. Quick breaks from back row’s Brogan and Critchlow pressurised the 10 into throwing the wide pass towards the touchline where the Garstang winger was met with great force from the onrushing Bolton backline who then unceremoniously dumped him into touch to end the game! Cue the Bolton celebrations.

This victory moves Bolton up into 9th spot in the league with games still to play against North Manchester, Burnley and Bury. Next weeks trip to St Edwards will no doubt prove a tough encounter for the Bolton 1st XV however it is a trip that every player will be looking forward to as we look to do the double over the Liverpool side.