Sykes strikes with a sweet score

Bolton RUFC Under 18s 24 v 0 Oldham RUFC Under 18s

Bolton RUFC Under 18s welcomed Oldham to a quiet Avenue Street for an early kick off on Rugby World Cup 2nd Semi Final day. With most teams having away matches it seemed unnaturally still after the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks. However, both teams put on a good game which both sets of fans enjoyed.

Regular Bolton visitor Paul Murphy was again in charge of the game; and one or two in the crowd wondered if he had been involved in more games at the Theatre of Trees this year than Bolton had; an example of the friendly banter that was evident throughout.
Bolton started well and had a couple of chances early doors, however, Oldham defended stoutly and aggressively keeping Bolton at arm’s length; helped by some handling by the Bolton team which was particularly sub-standard. As the game moved on Oldham grew into the match and belied their lowly league position and looked the better side at times.

From an Oldham kick out of defence Bolton finally broke the deadlock on 14 minutes as Charlie Hardern put winger Elliot Williams into a small amount of space right on the touchline. With only a couple of meters to work with Elliot lit the afterburners and sprinted down the outside channel outpacing the Oldham cover and scoring a breath-taking try. Tom Hill calmly added the extras and Bolton had a 7-0 lead.
Mason Lockley and Ryan McClusky were running strongly for Bolton and making meters but Oldham’s tackling was always up to the challenge. In fact it required a try saving tackle by Charlie Hardern to keep Bolton’s lead intact; one of several on the day. Mid way through the first period Bolton welcomed Chris Brownlow for his first game of the season after injury and he started in typical mode with a couple of powerful hit-ups. However, it was Chris’ delicate hands that set up the second try of the match. A strong bust from Mason and Joel Thompson put the home side on the front foot; Joey Gore’s excellent service put stand off Tom Hill into space; Centres Joe Partington and Josh Holmes made ground and the ball was recycled quickly to Chris Brownlow just 10 meters out. Chris drew the cover and deftly found James Sykes on the left wing with a lovely pass to allow James to register his first score for Bolton and a try to savour. Tom Hill was off target with the conversion; 12-0.
Harry Stocks was the second Bolton player to make his debut for the season after a long injury layoff and it was great to have both Harry and Chris back on the field finally. Oldham gave Harry a warm welcome but he battled on keeping his backs well serviced with possession and encouraging his pack forwards. There was no further score before the break despite several chances to both teams.
The second period saw more of the same, however, Bolton were forced into reorganising their pack when the excellent Joel Thompson had to leave the same with a knock to the ankle. As Joel was receiving treatment Josh Holmes had extended his side’s lead with a moment of individual magic. The Oldham full back had returned a Bolton kick with interest until Josh’s tackle stopped him in his tracks. Josh ripped the ball, spun and raced 60 meters to dot down under the sticks where Tom Hill could improve his score and put Bolton 19-0 ahead.
This try seemed to deflate Oldham for a short while and for a period the game became quite messy with a couple of yellow cards and neither side being able to stamp any authority on the proceedings. Down to 14 men Bolton defended stoutly and the front five of Harry Kay, Adam Kazmi, Connor Orrell, George Weston and Mason Lockley earned their corn (or should that be meat and potato pies) with a lot of good work both in loose and tight. In the pack Ryan McClusky ran superbly and tirelessly but was well shackled by the Oldham defenders as was back row colleague Chris Brownlow. Jordan Ashton was again immense, winning ball after ball and covering each and every blade of grass. George and Connor made some good busts and Mason always looked dangerous. Harry Kay playing despite a “stairs based” injury was a rock and on several occasions stopped Oldham’s attacks dead by his presence and strength.
It was fitting that Charlie Hardern had the last word as he put in a real stand out performance both in attack and defence. For once things clicked for the home side as they strung a couple of phases together to stretch their visitors down the right. Harry Stocks spun the ball out to the left and quick hands from the midfield pair of Hill and Partington provided Charlie with a deserved score as he rounded the defence to score out wide. Tome couldn’t add the conversion and the game ended with Bolton recording a 24-0 victory.
Oldham made things very hard for the Bolton team and it will be interesting to see how quickly they can move up the league if they can continue to play in this vein.
With all teams having a rest weekend to watch the World Cup final Bolton will need to take the opportunity to put in some hard time in on the training field before making the trip up the M66 to Rossendale in two weeks.
A good game, with Oldham taking the eye for their defence and determination and Bolton recording a well fought victory despite Oldham making things extremely difficult for them. Good points were the Bolton defence and keeping a “clean sheet”, Charlie and James’ tries and the return of Harry Stocks and Chris Brownlow. However, there were some areas that need to be worked on and we hope the break will work wonders for Joel’s ankle.