Bolton hold on to secure a great win over Northwich

Bolton 22-Northwich 20
The last time Bolton played Northwich had seen Northwich win in the last minute, so this game was always going to be close. Bolton were on the attack from the start, with Jonny Wallis passing the ball out to Adam Hackin and then Joe Carter – playing his first rugby match ever! Under pressure Northwich conceded a penalty, and Jonny Wallis kicked well gaining excellent ground. At the line out, Paddy Hargreaves won the ball and the driving maul which followed saw Harvey Banks peel off to score a try. Jonny Wallis, normally in the forwards, was playing fly half, and scored a great conversion. 7-0 to Bolton.
Northwich were quick to counter attack, and within minutes had scored a try, leaving the score at 7-5. The next 10 minutes saw tremendous tackling on both sides, with the ball being stolen by both teams, and Joe Carter, Morgan Smith and Tom Evans tackling hard. Another Bolton line-out saw the ball moved quickly from Morgan to Nathan Collins to Harvey and back to Nathan, but Northwich’s defence proved too strong. Morgan Skeels-Caldwell from the U17s was ferocious in attack too, and then whipped the ball out to Matty Baum. Northwich went in with a high tackle and were penalised, but some great play by Northwich saw them win back the ball, and they would have scored but for a try-saving tackle by Sam Smith. Northwich continued to drive forward, and scored again, 7-10 to Northwich.
From the kick off Bolton were clearly determined to score again. Paddy Uzoka made excellent ground, with Nathan Collins and Jonny Wallis supporting him. Harvey Banks used the ball well, and it span out from Adam Hackin to Owen Patel to Matty Baum who scored his first ever try for Bolton – 12-10.
From the next kick off the ball was well caught by George Lilleywhite and passed to Adam Hackin – he made a great run, before passing the ball to Jonny Wallis, who wasn’t going to be stopped by the Northwich defence and charged over the line for a try. 17-10 to Bolton at half time.
The second half saw both teams playing at the top of their game, neither one giving an inch willingly. Callum Naylor and Harvey Banks continued to drive Bolton forward, but a penalty to Northwich saw them able to pass the ball out wide and score again, leaving the score at 17-15.
Jonny Wallis kicked off deep and Northwich allowed the ball to bounce into touch, giving Bolton excellent field position. Some strong play ended with a scrum for Bolton at the 5m line. Bolton drove the ball forward before passing it out to Matty Baum on the left wing who sprinted over for his second try of the match, and the score was 22-15 to Bolton. However, in the next play Bolton gave away a penalty, and despite some great defence on the line from Bolton, particularly from Sam Smith, eventually Northwich scored, and Bolton had a narrow lead, 22-20.
Northwich continued to put the pressure on, and a fantastic tackle by Matthew Chowdhury stopped them in their tracks. The last 8 minutes were tense, with both sides attacking and defending strongly, and the pack was under real pressure, but Harry Dawber, Harvey, Matthew Chowdhury and Callum remained strong. At last the whistle went. A great game, played in great spirits.