From the kick off, Blackburn made it very apparent what their game plan was going to be for the next 80 minutes with pick and go’s from the large Burn forwards being as adventurous as the pack got. Their tactics were effective though as they starved Bolton of possession in the opening exchanges and slowly made their way down field. Strong guard defence from the Bolton forwards kept them at bay for the majority, but an infringement at the ruck provided Burn with an opportunity at 3 points which their kick pushed wide of the post.

From the ensuing 22 drop out, Burn reclaimed possession and began their slow trundle up field once more, this time interspersed with the odd attacking play from their backline. Once again Bolton held strong in defence but were unable to win the ball and utilise their counter attacking play. The only respite in the 1st 30 minutes came due to Blackburn errors forced by a tremendous defensive effort from all players, but in particular Gaz Pritchard and Louis Critchlow. Despite facing such a large pack, Bolton were able to dominate the scrum with several turnovers earned thanks to the work of front row Sam Hilton, Chris Cockton and Chris Mee. Bolton were guilty of panicking in attack and attempting to make a break first phase rather than building the pressure as Blackburn had.

After a further foray into the Bolton 22, Blackburn were awarded with another penalty opportunity which Sam Morgan was able to convert giving them a 3-0 lead. With this, Bolton fought back and earned their first bit of possession inside the Blackburn half, unfortunately Bolton weren’t able to make the most of the opportunity and the half closed with no further change to the score line.

The second half started in much the same vein for the Blackburn forwards and after earning a scrum around 7 metres out their scrum half Danny Holland made a dart down the blindside supported by his back row, he provided flanker Jordan Pearson with an opportunity to drive over from close range. The conversion was missed and Bolton were 8-0 down.

10 minutes later a further infringement from Bolton allowed Burn to stretch their lead with another Morgan penalty. This finally sparked Bolton into life and they started to dominate for the next 15 minutes. Bolton combined their forwards and backs well as they looked to make ground and from a scrum just outside the Blackburn 22, James Singleton was finally able to release his backs and Will Bate brushed off the would be tacklers to go over for a 5 point score near the left hand touch line. Mark Doherty was unable to convert the kick, but Bolton were high on confidence and knew that the game was still in contention.

Bolton continued to dominate the set piece and when provided with a penalty 5m out, captain Cockton indicated for the scrum. A solid scrum allowed Andrew Crimmins to feed the backline but a knock on saw the opportunity go to waste. With this Burn reverted to their one up rugby and eventually found themselves camped in the Bolton 22. Bolton’s frustration began to show and they lost veteran prop Gareth Evans to the sin bin. Burn opted for the scrum but Bolton held strong and repelled the attack. Eventually, Bolton gave away another penalty, this time in front of the posts and the Cherry and White hearts dropped as the losing bonus point looked sure to slip away. However, as the official had called last play, Burn opted to kick to touch and end the game meaning Bolton did not leave empty handed.

This was definitely not a game for the spectator, but Bolton will take solace from the fact that they were able to beat Burn in the scrum, regularly disrupt the lineout and contain them to only 1 try. With a number of players due back this weekend, Bolton will look to make amends against Keswick as they build towards another hard fixture in two weeks time against Eccles. This season will only continue to get tougher but Bolton believe they are up to the challenge.