Holmes' double nearly enough

Bolton U16s traveled round the M60 to East Manchester for a fixture that always seems to provide a fiery encounter; and today was no exception!
From the kick-off, both sides went at it hammer and tong, with end to end attacks. Very little quarter was given on either side for the duration, and I think the referee was a little ‘surprised’ at the level of ‘intensity’ that he was witnessing and having to officiate!
Aldwinians broke through the Bolton defence within two minutes, but failed to convert. With the next attack, Bolton replied in the best possible way, with Captain Josh Holmes touching down over the far side. Tom Hill was unable to add the extras from out wide. Two minutes later, Alwinians broke through again to score; this time adding on the conversion. 20 minutes of intense play ensued with no score, but plenty of action with crunching tackles going in from both sides. Aldwinians then scored just before half-time with no conversion to make it 17-5 at the interval.
After the re-start, Bolton took the ascendancy, with inside centre Chris Brownlow going through a strong defence to score, but again, Tom Hill was unable to add the conversion. 6 minutes later saw Captain Holmes go over for his second try, and Adam Kazmi was disappointed not to convert. Both teams were still playing with full intensity and commitment, and a period of indiscipline led to a yellow card in the forwards for each side. 10 minutes of uncontested scrums followed with no no.8 pick-ups allowed. With 49 minutes gone, Bolton’s Ryan McClusky made a trademark surging run, busting through the Aldwinian’s defence to dot down 5 metres in from touch. It was not to be Bolton’s day with conversions, however, and once more, Tom Hill couldn’t manage to slot the ball between the uprights from a difficult angle. Score now 17-20. With both sides now tiring, but still contesting for every ball in every way (some illegally, we thought, but not 'seen') Alwinians were given a penalty from a kicked clearance when they clearly knocked on somewhere near our 10 metre line. With a momentary lapse in concentration arising from this decision, Bolton missed a few tackles that allowed the home side to score an unconverted try on 57 minutes. Heads not down, Bolton tried repeatedly to head downfield but due to a couple of mistakes, wrong decisions and stern defensive play, were unable to add a further score. There may have been time for a couple more attacks, but the referee blew up a little early for the Bolton coaches’ liking to make the final score Alwinians 22-20 Bolton.
Probably our best performance of the season so far, despite having lost. Every player played their hearts out for the team, and it was truly a pleasure to watch. Every single one of them should be proud of how they played and kept their discipline in the face of adversity.
Players’ player of the match was awarded to Jordan Ashton for his non-stop work from open-side flanker. Parent’s player of the match was awarded to Chris Brownlow for his superb tackling and all-round play. Coaches’ player of the match could have been shared by all 18 lads, but the decision was made to award it to George Weston for his selfless, unassuming work from the second row.
Last Sunday’s extended training session was certainly instrumental in how the U16’s played today, for which our own Gareth Stocks should take most credit, together with Chris Cockton and Ryan Wiggy from the first XV, whose input and advise was invaluable. Our play was a little more structured, and players knew their responsibilities much better. Lineouts and especially rucking were vastly improved; scrums need a lot more work. We go forward now to play Ashton-on-Mersey next Sunday in a friendly, and then Eccles the week after in the semi-final of the plate.
The coaches are very proud of you ALL today for the spirit and determination with which you played today in difficult circumstances. We need to take this level of intensity forward into the next games and be as determined to play like that in EVERY game from now on. We need to turn up on Wednesdays and Sundays (where possible) switched on, ready to train, learn and improve our individual and collective games.