Bolton 1st XV 61 v 17 Burnley 1st XV

...and in doing so ensured a play off match at home against Silloth next Saturday to determine who will join Tarleton in promotion next season.

With the sun beating down and a with a bumper crowd behind them, Bolton started the match at a ferocious pace, with their counterparts barely being able to keep up with them. The first try wasn't long in arriving, and it was the ever impressive Ash Cooper who drove over after some muscular work from the pack had marched Bolton into the Burnley 22. Points machine Mark Doherty added the conversion to allay any pre game nerves Bolton may have had.

With their tales up, Bolton began to expand their game and brought the three quarter line into the match with devastating effect. Winger Mike Richardson was the first to profit, after quick hands released him down the right wing and he swatted away the Burnley defenders with ease to score under the posts. Doherty again converted to give Bolton a 14-0 lead after less than ten minutes.

Man of the match Will Bate, then started to dominate proceedings from the middle of the park, his darting runs had Burnley on the back foot, and he scored two tries in quick succession following a number of tackle busts. Both tries were converted by the unerringly accurate boot of Doherty.

Richardson continued to maraud down the wing and completed his hat trick with two well taken tries, both of which started with excellent service from Nick Lever, and slick handling in the back line.

The first half scoring was completed with two more tries, one for full back Danny Joseph, who was put into space by captain Chris Cockton, and finally from Ash Cooper who got his second try. After Bolton's flurry of tries, the score at half time was 56-0 and Bolton had already secured the four try bonus point and appeared way out of sight.

Perhaps inevitably, Bolton took their foot off the gas in the second half and Burnley found a foot hold in the contest. At half time, Bolton spoke about the importance of maintaining a clean sheet, but this failed to transpire as a combination of poor tackling and complacency allowed Burnley to score three tries of their own.

Through the barnstorming running of Matthew Parrish, who bulldozed his way through the Burnley defence all match, and the tireless scrummaging of Gareth Evans and Sam Hilton, Bolton did finish on a high, as top try scorer and Players' Player of the Year Rhys Pritchard scored his obligatory try.

For 40 minutes, Bolton demonstrated why they have finished the season in second place, and this form should stand them in good stead for next week's crucial play off match at home against Cumbrian opponents Silloth. The fantastic support at the club last weekend certainly inspired the Cherry and Whites in the first half, and a similar turnout next weekend could provide the difference in what would be a superb promotion winning campaign.