Nine try 16s back in form

Bolton Under 16s 49 vs 12 Tarleton Under 16s

Tries: Will McCambridge (3), Will Brindle (2), Josh Holmes (2), Jordan Ashton, Tom Hill
Conversions: Tom Hill (2)
Man of the Match Awards:
Players’: Joey Gore
Parents’: Josh Holmes
Coaches’: George Weston
Sportsmanship: Levi Walsh

Bolton Under 16s were almost back to full strength and the 21 players in Asons red and white put the team back on track with a 9 try performance against Tarleton. The scoreline of 49-12 in Bolton’s favour doesn’t do our visitors justice as they never let up and played with spirit, determination and no little skill throughout.
Harry Stocks’ first start of the season unfortunately only lasted less than 5 minutes as he was ruled out with a knock but this allowed Joey Gore to register a Man of the Match performance at Scrum Half; his all action determination winning him the vote from his peers. The Will “twins” Brindle and McCambridge shared 5 tries between themselves (2 and 3 respectively) while “Hitch Kick” Holmes ran the game from 10 and also secured two well deserved tries and the Parents’ award in the process.
Will McCambridge was a dynamo all day, resplendent in his new “cold weather gear” despite the rare Bolton sunshine. Will recorded a real hat trick with 3 consecutive tries and it was a well deserved reward for his determination and spirit all around the park lung busting runs and constant support.
Captain for the day Jordan Ashton also registered his just rewards with a “rip and dive” score from a foot after a well worked move and determined running saw Yousef Sharif held up just shy of the white wash. It was no surprise that Jordan was first to the breakdown as his speed both of body and mind were evident the whole game. Tom Hill rounded off the scoring with an individual 20m burst to add to two earlier conversions.

There were excellent performance all across the pitch with Coaches’ Award going to George Weston who gets better each week who narrowly sneaked the award ahead of Connor Orrell whose first start at 13 was extremely promising. Some great runs and one or two clever off loads showing Connor has real promise in the team and will keep centres Mikey Latham and Firth Lord looking to their laurels.
The Sportmanship Award was picked up by Levi Walsh who played most of the game for Tarleton at wing forward despite starting on the right wing for Bolton. Levi gladly put on the black of Tarleton when their wing forward went down with an injured ankle and played his heart out only letting up for Will Brindle to take over for the last 5 minutes.
Across the back line there were some excellent performances to a man. Harry Stocks looked bright and lively in the short time he was on the pitch and the Josh Holmes / Mikey Latham access at 10/12 is looking better and better each week. It was good to have Firth Lord back in the team and he came off the bench with determination to put in a resounding performance full of sharp runs and hard tackles; much like his centre partner. Out wide Jake Lever and David Warren looked assured and comfortable while Yousef Sharif ran hard and could easily have had a just reward of a try or two for a superb stint in the 11 shirt. Behind them Adam Kazmi was solid and assured in defence and a constant danger in attack fielding everything the Tarleton side could throw at him and returning all kicks with interest.
In the pack Matty Ashton and Jacob Walker kept the scrums secure and straight and took the ball strongly into contact at every occasion. It was great to see some of the things we have been working on on Wednesday evening being brought into play. Joseph Partington kept the fires stoked when in the front row and added definite drive later on with a stint alongside the season’s find George Weston in the 2nd Row. Harry Kay gets better and better each week and it was good to see first hand his determination in the tight married to no small skills with some smart passes when required. Matty Ashton must have been taking note as a he drew three or four defenders onto himself before delivering a lovely timed ball for yet another line break.
It was hard to believe that Tom McCormick had been in doubt with illness all week as he never stopped running and he must be extremely proud of a couple of scrum balls taken against the head plus the hooking of the Exocet ball Joey Gore delivered into his first scrum of the day.
The back three of Jordan Ashton, Tom Hill and Will Brindle played some excellent rugby and make a nicely balanced breakaway trio we are always proud to put onto the field. Will ran strongly, Jordan ruled the break down and Tom was everywhere adding finesse or brute strength as required.

A great improvement all round and a performance to be proud of with still some more hard work on the training paddock to satisfy the team and keep the coaches happy. Let’s see everyone down on Wednesday to polish the rough edges off today’s performance and add a bit more lustre for the visit of Leigh next Sunday.

It is always a pleasure to welcome Tarleton to Bolton, they always give 100%, play hard, play fair and do themselves and their coaches proud. We wish them every success for the remainder of the season and look forward to another game soon.

A brilliant day of sunshine and excellent running rugby at the Theatre of Trees following an impeccably respected 2 minutes silence before kick off.