16s start the season in style

Bolton Under 16s 60 v 5 Oldham Under 16s

Did someone mention an Indian Summer in September? If so they were keeping very quiet about it on Sunday when Bolton Under 16s started their 2013/14 campaign with a practice game against Oldham at The Theatre of Trees.

With 5 new “signings” and one returning player the coaches had been busy in the transfer window and so 21 players trotted out of the club in their smart new shirts as sponsored by Asons Solicitors. John King of Asons was present to receive a club shirt and also a “Play Rugby in Bolton” T-Shirt from the lads before the match and to cheer the lads on. With photos taken and discussions with the referee about the new laws completed the guys got their rugby heads on for their first outing as Under 16s.

Oldham started brightly and the game’s first encounters were very even. The first lineout passed without a hitch and both sides showed they had been practicing hard over the summer on their lifting as blue and red shirted players soared into the grey and cloud filled sky. The referee also remembered the new scrum engagement instructions and “crouch”, “bind”, “set” followed by “get it in 9” greeted every scrum where both teams put the pros to shame with the first scrum collapse not being until the 65th minute.

Bolton started to gain some confidence and with Joey Gore handling and distributing the wet and slippy ball beautifully throughout and Will Brindle charging from the base of the scrum they drove the visitors back into their own 22. A momentary lapse by the solid Oldham defence led to a loose ball which Tom McCormick pounced on and slid over the line from about 10cm to record the team’s first score of the season. After waiting years for his first try in the Red of Bolton it has taken Tom no time at all to double his tally. Adam Kazmi slotted the extras to make the score 7-0.

With their tails up Bolton piled on the pressure and only a last ditch tackle right on the corner flag denied the home side a second try. From the resulting lineout Bolton again pressurised the defence, stole the ball and zipped it along the line where outside centre Firth Lord rounded the cover to double the lead with the aid of Adam Kazmi’s trusty boot on the conversion; 14-0.

Will Brindle was the next on the score sheet with a drive over from a 5m scrum but Tom Hill couldn’t quite add the extras from the acute angle. Will McCambridge then got into the act with the first and second of his first day hat trick; both tries richly deserved after marauding runs down the left of the pitch. Tom Hill finally got the ball, kicking tee, posts and his boots aligned and normal Tom Hill service was resumed when he fired over his most difficult attempt of the three to make the score 31-0.

The Bolton coaches rang the changes throughout the first half and the solidity in the scrum offered by a front row of Joseph Partington, Tom McCormick and Jacob Walker was equally matched by the changes of props as Jack O’Kane started his second season with the side, Matthew Ashton made his debut and the team welcome Joel Thompson back into the fold. Jordan Ashton put in his usual excellent performance both on the field and in the lineouts.

Tom Hill completed the first half scoring with a fine try which he improved himself to make the score at the interval 38-0. A fine display in difficult conditions both in attack and defence as despite all their best efforts and exceptional spirit the Oldham lads had hardly threatened the home line.

The second half started with Oldham really fired up and determined to show the healthy crowed what they could do and all credit to the lads as they had Bolton under severe pressure for the first period of the second half. Matthew Ashton pulled off a couple of crunching tackles and fellow debutant Ben Thornly also followed suit. George Weston and Harry Kay also impressed the crowd and coaches with fine displays on their first runs in a Bolton shirt with George extremely mobile about the rucks and mauls and looking the real deal. Harry was brilliant in the scrum and a real presence on the field, the only disappointment was the lack of opportunity to have a run with ball in hand. Out wide both Yousef Sharif and Ben Thornly looked dangerously fast and both could easily have registered tries on their debuts. Only a foot in touch stopped Ben racing 60m to score; touch judge James Timms was not the flavour of the month with the home fans for that decision but thankfully he has broad shoulders, knew he was in the right and has now arranged to leave the North West for the South coast!. Yousef, showed us both rugby and juggling skills and only a last ditch tackle, a real feature of the Oldham determination. stopped him from adding his name to the score sheet.

After weathering the Oldham storm Josh Holmes took a spinning pass from fellow half back and ghosted round and through the visiting cover to open his account for the season and the team’s for the second period. Adam Kazmi’s faultless kicking display faltered with a rare blip on his kick; 43-0.

Will McCambridge then decided he was bored with others scoring and completed his hat trick and rounded off a fine performance which won him the player’s player of the match award with a powerful surge to dot down near the stick. Tom Hill improved the try to bring up the half century.

The next period of the game was all Oldham as they showed the Bolton lads that they had skill to go with ample spirit. The drove the home side back and back and tested their Bolton teams tackling and resolve. Penned back in their own 22 the home side conceded a penalty and from a quick tap the visiting scrum half drew the home cover and quick hands resulted in a well deserved and well taken try. 50-5.

It was time for Bolton to show that they could raise their game too and with the rain starting to sheet down Bolton’s handling seem to improve rather than suffer and the ball was zipped from wing to wing. The Oldham left wing saved a certain try with the tackle of the match on a flying Ryan McClusky but he and his colleagues could do nothing to stop David Warren from registering a score moments later. From a break down the left which had involved many of the Bolton backs Joel Thompson found himself at Stand Off but didn’t look out of place at all as he drew the cover and fed the ball wide where David jinked around the last couple of blue shirts and carried the last tackler over to dot down in the corner. The rain and angle proved too much for Tom Hill who narrowly missed the kick; 55-5.

As the rain strengthened and the match raced to the final seconds Josh Holmes, obviously concerned over his 10 shirt from Joel’s earlier play, once again took it upon himself to challenge the visitors defence. Michael Latham ran intelligently to draw the cover which gave Josh a sniff of the line and he dived in at the corner. The final try, like the first, led to controversy as the referee was unsighted but James Timms redeemed himself in the eyes of the home fans by giving the assurance that the ball had been grounded before Josh was tackled into touch and the try was awarded to make the final score 60-5.

The home fans and coaches were delighted with the performance of the Bolton lads and especially our new players Yousef Sharif, Matthew Ashton, Harry Kay, George Weston and Ben Thornly. Jack O’Kane put in the best performance we have seen in a Bolton shirt and it was great to see him looking so fired up and determined.

In the backs Adam Kazmi was tremendous throughout dealing with anything the Oldham attack could throw at him both with ball in hand and in the air. Also his running was imperious and dangerous. Out wide the wingers Yousef, David and Ben showed speed, determination and looked extremely dangerous while inside old hands Michael Latham and Firth Lord controlled the middle of the park both tackling like Trojans, running with flair and skill and feeding the wingers at every opportunity. The 9/10 access was also excellent with Josh given the freedom of the pitch by Joey’s quick and accurate delivery and boy did Josh put the space to full use.

In the “Boiler House” the front row players Tom McCormick, Joseph Partington, Jacob Walker, Joel Thompson, Jack O’Kane and Matthew Ashton all really put in a shift and it was a pleasure to see not only the solidity of the scrum but that it was moving in a Bolton direction too. In the lineouts Bolton dominated throughout with jumpers Tom Hill, Jordan Ashton and Will McCambridge superb in every respect but they couldn’t have done it without the lifters so it was a real team performance with Tom Mc’s throws “on the money” each time.

For his hat trick and all round exceptional performance Will McCambridge was named Player’s Player, Ben Thornly received the Parent’s award for a first performance of exceptional promise while Tom Mc deservedly received the Coaches’ accolade.

All round what a day, a great start with the new Asons shirts and meeting John King, flash new socks and a performance to match the quality of the kit. The old hands were exceptional to a man while the debutants all should be extremely proud of their first performance in Asons Bolton shirt. All bodes well for a good year; let’s build on a superb start as the games will get tougher and we’ll need to continue to improve and help each other along.

A final word to our visitors who played some excellent rugby despite being ravaged by late cry offs in the back division. Their tackling was immense (especially the left wing – brilliant) but that was over shadowed by their sportsmanship, resolve and never say die spirit. We were all impressed by their play and hope the team and their coaches were proud of themselves; they certainly deserve to be.
Good luck for the season and we wish you well.