Whitehaven arrived with a physical looking side, and with Bolton missing some personnel through injury and unavailability, it was never going to be a straightforward afternoon for The Cherry and Whites.

This was how the opening exchanges played out, as Whitehaven utilised their strong runners to make inroads into the home side's defence and despite strong tackling from Alex Youngman and man of the match Ash Cooper, Whitehaven profited with two early penalties to lead 6-0 after ten minutes.

Despite conceding early points, Bolton's try line was never really threatened and once the home side secured some possession, the ever industrious Gareth Pritchard, the powerful Matthew Parrish and the barnstorming Louis Critchlow continually broke the gain line as Bolton gained momentum. The pressure was telling, and Whitehaven eventually infringed within kicking range and Mark Doherty duly added the three points to get Bolton on the scoreboard.

Bolton began to play with renewed confidence and thanks to dominance at the set piece thanks to the front row of Gareth Evans, skipper Chris Cockton and Sam Hilton, the home side were making plenty of forays into the Cumbrian's 22. Eventually Bolton took their chance and Critchlow bulldozed his way over from close range after yet another dominant scrum. The conversion was missed, but it wasn't long until Bolton crossed the whitewash again.

This time, the prolific Gareth Pritchard was the grateful recipient, as he dotted down following some powerful mauling. Doherty converted the try and Bolton went in at half time 15-6 in the lead.

Despite showing glimpses in the first period, Bolton's backline knew they had to start firing if they were to contribute to the victory, and soon Dave Bruen and Will Bate were being given some quality ball from James Singleton. With Whitehaven on the backfoot, skipper Cockton ploughed over the top of a ruck to score near the posts. Doherty added the extra two points, and Bolton were one try away from the bonus point.

Substitutes Chris Mee, Nick Sandbrook and Andrew Murtagh began to have an impact on the tiring Whitehaven defence, but it was Bate who grabbed the plaudits with his first and Bolton's fourth try of the match following the forwards turning over scrum ball 10 metres out. Doherty converted and despite a weaving run from Rhys Pritchard toward the end of the match, Bolton couldn't add to their lead.

With three wins in a row, Bolton make the journey to Upper Eden next weekend in confident mood knowing that at their best, they can trouble any side in the league.