Bolton 29 - 37 Rochdale

Bolton 29 Rochdale 37

Bolton welcomed Rochdale and all their supporters to The Avenue on Saturday. The pitch was in excellent condition despite all the rain we have had over the last week or so. Rochdale were third in the league and this was going to be a good test for the Bolton team.
Bolton did not make the best of starts, they should have cleared the ball from their own twenty-two but it was passed down the line and the ball was dropped. Rochdale took advantage and went over for an easy try in the fourth minute. Bolton came back and in the tenth minute, good pressure near the Rochdale line, saw Jack Robinson saunter unopposed down the blindside to score. Rhys Pritchard added the conversion. The game at this stage was dominated by Rochdale using the wind to pin Bolton deep in their own half. They scored a very well worked try in the twentieth minute. Subsequently, they added two further tries in the thirty-first and thirty-fourth minutes. Rochdale’s final score of the half was a penalty. Bolton scored a try just before half-time; Niall Murphy made an excellent interception and just as he was about to be tackled, he passed the ball to Tom Crook. Tom ran twenty metres, beating the covering defence, to score. Rhys Pritchard added the conversion.

Half-time score: Bolton 14 Rochdale 29

The second half started with Rochdale scoring the first try. Bolton were starting to build some momentum and were dominating the scrums. An injury to Ben Cottam curtailed their lineout ball somewhat. Their first try of the second half came after some powerful forward drives, which exposed Rochdale’s defence. The ball was passed out to Tom Crook who drew the defender and put Manny Tailor in for a try. Rhys Pritchard added the conversion. Bolton were very much back in the game with both their attack and defence working well. Bolton scored another try in the seventy second minute. Manny Tailor went over again in the corner after some tremendous inter play from both the backs and the forwards. A penalty kick, which Rhys Prichard converted in the seventy-fourth minute, narrowed Rochdale’s lead four points. At this stage Rochdale looked rather edgy. The last minute of the half saw Bolton give away an unfortunate penalty. This led to the Rochdale’s fly-half adding the three points securing them the win.

Final score: Bolton 29 Rochdale 37

Bolton, again, played with great commitment and effort and their ‘never say die’ attitude almost won them the match. Rochdale’s back line kept them in the match with some excellent kick and chase. All the Bolton players should be very proud of this performance and if they can keep this going to the end of the season we will do well.
Man of Match: Rhys Pritchard