The top of the table clash at Avenue Street was played in less than perfect conditions but a near perfect effort from the boot of Mark Doherty saw Bolton take the spoils.

In front of a large crowd on both sides of the pitch, Bolton kicked off with Will Bate starting at scrum half and new signing Mike Mills slotting in at outside centre. The opening few minutes were littered with errors on both sides with scrums being the set-piece of the day... An early scrum went to Blackburn after a knock on by Ash Cooper in the early exchanges, however Bolton's noticeably smaller pack showed their ability and struck against the head to win back possession. Will Bate at 9 was causing the Burn back row some problems around the fringes and the Bolton back row of Cooper, Gaz Pritchard and Rick Newman were constantly on the front foot thanks to his quick thinking and sharp pace. Bolton's continued efforts were finally rewarded when a Burn player drifted offside and provided Mark Doherty with the opportunity for three points.

Blackburn came back hard and, unusually, were playing a wide expansive game utilising their strong back line. Coupled with the odd forward carry they began to make some ground into the Bolton half. An infringement by the Cherry and White's allowed Burn to play for field position and a line out was awarded on the Bolton 22m line. From the set-piece, Burn attempted a driving maul but were met with strong Bolton resistance. After moving nowhere and being called upon by the official to use it, the ball was moved out. Some slick hands and a small defensive error from Bolton meant that Burn slipped in at the corner. An attempted cover tackle from Mills put him out of the game with an injured elbow and Bolton called upon Andrew Crimmins to enter the field just 15 minutes in to the game with Bate reverting back to outside centre.

From the restart Burn continued to play their wide style but the Bolton back line were more than up to the task against the visitors, who did not threaten the home try line again all game. Bolton were soon handed a chance to regain the lead with a further penalty which Doherty duly converted. 6-5.

Bolton's line out was functioning well with Newman and Brodie claiming everything that came their way. Crimmins found himself under pressure from the Burn forwards but always managed to release the ball to fly half James Singleton or recycle well with help from his forward, in particular Chris Mee who was prominent at the rucks all day. Unfortunately, too many errors were costing Bolton possession and the half continued to be littered with knock-ons.

From one such knock-on by a Bolton player, a Burn forward took it upon himself to try out an irish jig on a Bolton player and was subsequently binned for his actions. With Bolton a man up, Doherty slotted yet another penalty to extend the lead and give the Avenue Street men a platform from which to build.

Bolton were now enjoying more dominance in the scrum and number 8 Newman was enjoying his role at the base of the scrum with a number of pick and go's ably supported by the ever present James Brodie who was slotting in at second row. However, Burn were not going down without a fight and challenged at every breakdown for the ball with some success. A turnover resulted in a deep clearance kick by a Burn player and then came the most embarrassing moment of the match...

A kick return from Doherty landed comfortably in the hands of Blackburn's back row Jordan Pearson who then lined up Newman 10m away and began his charge. On his way in to contact he could be heard crying out "Let's see what you've got boy." Challenge accepted. As the two players collided Newman got under his man lifted him from the ground and drove him back, at which point, Louis Critchlow, Cooper and Pritchard all came crashing in to unceremoniously dump him into the floor in a move that had the Bolton crowd cheering with delight.

Pearson did well to recycle the ball, but on the back foot, Burn had no other option but than to kick. From the line out, Newman showed his prominence once more and set up Crimmins with a lovely off the top ball. The ball was moved into the centres with Dave Bruen and Bate making good ground and the fast ball that Bolton was producing caused the visitors so much trouble they resorted to giving away another penalty just before half time. Doherty stepped up, but the distance was just too much. The ball was punted off the pitch for half time.

Bolton 9 - 5 Blackburn

Nick Holmes showed faith in his side with no changes at half time and following a few words from Skipper Chris Cockton, Bolton re took the field knowing they were only 40 minutes away from a more than achievable victory.

Bolton received the kick and set about making their way up field, once again errors littered the half with knock ons being particularly prominent, although less so than in the first half. Bolton were starting to find some momentum and fluidity though as Singleton began to pick up his game to the level he's been performing at the last few weeks. A number of perfectly placed kicks, strong running lines and wide passes got Bolton motoring.

It didn't take long for Bolton to fund themselves not he score sheet once more, this time with Rhys Pritchard the beneficiary. Following a good number of phases, Bate found himself out wide, ball in hand and two Burn defenders closing in on him. With Pritchard in support on his inside shoulder Bate chose to drop the ball on to his boot, splitting the two defenders and giving Pritchard an opportunity to dot down over the whitewash after winning the foot race. The surefooted Doherty stepped up and once more put the ball between the posts, giving Bolton a strong 16-5 lead.

With the momentum strongly in Bolton's favour, Nick Holmes sought to bring on some fresh legs and after a strong performance, Louis Critchlow left the field with Tony McLaughlin the man replacing him. A fresh set of legs in the scrum did nothing to help Burns cause at the set-piece and McLaughlin soon made himself known in the loose with strong carries and thundering tackles.

The substitution did its job and Bolton pressed hard, eventually being rewarded with another penalty opportunity. Doherty lined what was his last kick of the game and slotted it to round off an excellent MOM performance.

Bolton's strong defensive effort forced Blackburn back into their tried and tested pick and go method of playing rugby, yet the Cherry and White's continued to hold strong. To their credit Burn played hard throughout and eventually found themselves camped within the Bolton 22. However, yet again, Bolton's defensive line was not to be breached and eventually they were able to clear the danger. At the line out Ben Stubbs was introduced for Sam Hilton who had scrummaged excellently throughout the game and Bolton set about disrupting the away sides ball. As he had done for the most of the second half Brodie turned over the line out and Crimmins set about releasing his backs. Cooper and Pritchard were given the ball to crash it up in midfield and Bolton were well and truly on the front foot. The ball found its way out to Bate who drew his man and slipped a sublime pass to winger Pritchard who beat his man for what should have been his second try of the game, however the match official deemed the pass to be forward, much to the distaste of Bate and the scrum was converted into a penalty for his dissent.

Blackburn made ground with the penalty kick and once again reverted to their pick and go rugby. Bolton remained strong in defence and snuffed out any and all further attacks until eventually time was up and Bolton could enjoy the feeling of victory.