Bolton 1st XV 19 v 15 Hutton 1st XV

With a bumper crowd at Mortfield Pavilion, Bolton were under no illusions that another win was by no means guaranteed against a Hutton side who have been consistently pushing for promotion for the last few seasons.

It proved to be a predictably tight match, but a confident Bolton side began to take control and after some quick ruck ball, the Bolton backs were released and winger Daryl McDowall finished expertly in the corner to give Bolton a 7-0 lead after seven minutes.

Hutton, recognising the improvement in Bolton's play, upped the pace themselves and used their big pack to good effect. From an attacking lineout, they caught and drove over the Bolton line to register their first points of the match.

The Cherry and Whites were now in the tough match they were always expecting, but they showed the resilience that they have developed over the past few matches to fight their way into the lead once more, after a scintillating break from Will Bate and a precision cross kick allowed the on rushing Rhys Pritchard to score. The conversion was missed, but Bolton went in at the break 12-5 in the lead.

Bolton were composed at half time, and their winning run had given them the confidence they needed to see the game out. Despite this, Hutton are an experienced side, who began to dominate proceedings in the second half, and cut Bolton's lead with a penalty just before the hour mark, and their second try soon followed on 65 minutes. The away side were now in the lead for the first time in the match at 15-12.

Nick Sandbrook was leading the Bolton comeback with a typical dynamic display and along with the physicality of Chris Mee and the attacking danger of Pritchard and Bate, Bolton knew they were in with a shout of winning the match.

The crucial moment came with just over ten minutes to go when Danny Joseph picked up the ball just inside his own half and spotted a gap in the Hutton defence, his run was stopped 20 metres from the Hutton line and after the ball was quickly recycled, the Hutton defence was on the back foot. The ensuing phases created an overlap on the wing for McDowall to sprint over for his second try to round off an impressive performance. Mark Doherty converted the try to make the final score 19-15 to Bolton.

This weekend Bolton travel to Burnley for their final match before Christmas and hope to extend their winning run to eight matches and cement their position of third in the league.