Snr Colts get a draw away at 2nd in League

With five players suffering long term injuries and another few others unavailable a pieced together team of 14 was set to travel to Prenton; who where sitting 2nd in the league. This season’s previous encounter at home had ended in a crushing defeat for the Bolton squad, so they knew they had their work cut out.

As some members of the squad arrived a phone call from three others (including 2 front row players) indicated they were only just setting off from Bolton for the 1 hr journey! After a hurried discussion with the Prenton Management and the Referee it was agreed that a slight delay to kick off could be made to try and get a more competitive squad to play. Unfortunately they then got lost! A joint decision was made to commence the game 12 v 11 with the hope to adjust when / if they arrived.

Bolton commenced with some trepidation knowing the strength of the Prenton team from their last encounter. The first few minutes went back and forth before Bolton took first blood with the ball working out to the wide spaces on the wing where back row stalwart Tom Swift received the ball to go over; the extras added by Liam Hampson who had brought his kicking boots! Following a game ending injury to Rob Brown for a while Bolton had to endure a two man disadvantage but still returned further scores through a poacher’s try taken by Ed Holmes, after a Prenton fumble over the line and a penalty and conversion added by Hampson.

At this point the lost sheep had arrived and could bolster the squad on the pitch and restore a one man disadvantage and competitive scrums. It also allowed Prenton to have more balanced squad and get back into the game. Further scores were traded (another Swift try) and brought a 22-10 half time advantage to Bolton.

Prenton continued their come back in the second half utilising their strength in the forwards, especially their No.8, to push the score back to 22-22 with a quarter of the game to play. Both teams battled back and forth for the remaining time, Prenton pushing to gain the upper hand. Bolton held out, playing an effective defensive game to maintain the draw.

Many thanks to Prenton’s Dave Ball and Roy Triggs and Referee Mike Walsh for allowing a delayed kick off and adjustments to make the game competitive. The initial advantage was as big a shock to the Bolton Coaches and squad as it was the home team and couldn’t have been planned!