Five Point Win At Sefton

Bolton travelled to Sefton in the Lancashire/Cheshire League on Saturday. Both sides had not played each other before in a competitive match, so it was a new experience for both sides. The weather was overcast and a strong wind blew down the pitch. Bolton’s supporters (Compost Corner, as they affectionally known) were out in force to support the Cherry and Whites.
Bolton started the game strongly and within four minutes took an early lead from a ruck followed by slick handling by the backs. The ball ended with Jonny Stansfield who went inside his opponent then outside him to score. Mike Mills added the conversion. Bolton never really got into the match at this stage as they were getting penalised by penalty after penalty. In the eighteenth minute Sefton scored a try from a line-out and a driving maul. From the ensuing kick-off Bolton chased an excellent kick-off by Alex Waddicar. The tackle was made, the ball won and was passed down the backs for Will Bate to make a half-break and pass to Josh Holmes to score. Sefton came back at Bolton and showed some strong running from the forwards and backs. Bolton’s defence held firm. The referee was still awarding penalties against Bolton which hindered their flow in the game.
Half-time score Sefton 5 Bolton 12
In the second half Bolton started with great gusto. In the forty-second minute from turnover ball Ben Cottam broke the line of defence and passed to Jonny Stansfield who sped towards the line for his second try of the afternoon. Straight after the restart Bolton scored again. A fine break by captain Rhys Pritchard and some deft inter-passing from Rhys and Josh Holmes led to Rhys scoring under the posts. Mike Mills added the conversion. Sefton came back and scored a try in the fifty-fourth minute. Bolton were still being penalised by the referee for some very ‘interesting’ decisions. Bolton had a couple of good chances to further their score. Alex Waddicar had a foot in touch and Will Bate’s pass to Josh Holmes prevented two more certain tries. In the seventy-sixth minute Bolton scored from a good drive down the pitch by the forwards. Niall Murphy burst through, bouncing off a couple of defenders to score. The final play of the game went to Sefton. Their fly-half grubber kicked through in Bolton’s twenty-two and their inside centre (clearly two or three metres in front of the kicker) scored under the posts.
Final score: Sefton 19 Bolton 29
Bolton were pleased to gain five points from the game. Bolton were very clinical in their attack and the handling was much better. The forwards worked well together. Sefton put up a very good show and tested Bolton in all areas of play.
Man of Match: Josh Holmes