Sleet and snow…

Bolton U12s travelled to Orrell RFU for what should have been games against, Tarleton, Southport and the hosts Orrell. Unfortunately Tarleton were not available.

The temperature at Orrell never rose above 1 degree centigrade, but the passion and commitment of the Bolton U12s who faced a physically larger Southport side soon warmed everyone up. Bolton chose to kick off, playing up hill on a sloping pitch. Size wasn’t everything as the Bolton forwards soon showed how to dominate the breakdown and each set piece. The much larger Southport pack did not win a single scrum or line out. From each set piece our half backs were perfectly placed to exploit their speed and excellent handling skills. Joe Cropper out on the wing was passed a perfectly weighted ball by Miles Garth that enabled Cropper to use his speed to score the first try for Bolton. The roles were soon reversed and Miles Garth run in Bolton’s second try, but only after running at pace through shocked Southport defence.

As the weather in the second half deteriorated further Bolton decided to go back to basics of short driving phases. The use of our dominant forwards close to the Southport touchline saw two tries by prop forward Sean Carragher. Of particular note was the try of the day by Oliver McKeown who whilst being active in a Bolton maul, peeled of the back with the ball and charged through the Southport defence discarding a number of their larger players before scoring touching down for a try. Final score: Southport 0 Bolton 31

A quick turnaround saw Bolton face the hosts Orrell. The weather now consisted of driving snow as well as freezing temperatures. It was clear from the start that Orrell wanted to control the game and they immediately did. Orrell started fast and hard, but were unable to penetrate the Bolton defence. After a number of phases Orrell had made significant ground and decided to kick deep into Bolton’s defence. Lawson Bates at fullback was put under a great deal pressure and as always he had a safe pair of what must have been frozen hands. Orrell soon realised that kicking to Bates did not give them the advantage they had hoped for, as he consistently ran straight back at the opposition and Orrell decided to pressurise our forwards.

Orrell must have observed Bolton’s game against Southport as unfortunately we were unable to exploit our powerful centres. A change at 10 saw Jake Rimmer come off due to injury and Owen Lewis move into 10. We started to see some excellent handing skills by Bolton’s back line, but the heavy conditions hindered our runners.

Some harsh decisions by the referee against Bolton saw a simple try scored by Orrell and a try disallowed as it was unclear if Bolton had grounded the ball. A quick rotation of Bolton players saw new player Ellis McNally come onto the wing and within seconds he showed pace and tenacity that almost saw him score. Although Orrell had scored, it was clear the game was finely balanced, especially between the two packs. George Whitehead came on as prop and instantly showed the opposition that a prop can run at pace. His break down the centre of the pitch with three Orrell players hanging off him was great to see.

A try by Bolton’s number 8 Lewis Picton rose the spirits of the lads, only to be dampened by a further try by Bolton being disallowed. Perhaps a case for a TMO, who knows. Final score: Orrell 10 Bolton 5

Man of the match: Oliver McKeown

Thanks to Orrell for accommodating the team today!