BOLTON are preparing for a no-holds-barred duel with local rivals Eccles on Saturday that could go a long way to securing their place in North One West.

The Cherry and Whites travel to Gorton Street for the first of five remaining games in a high-octane end to their first season of level-six rugby.

They go into the game fourth bottom of the division, five points ahead of Eccles who occupy the third relegation place, and on the back of a three-match losing sequence – the latest a 24-13 home defeat by second placed Kirkby Lonsdale on Saturday – that is testing their fortitude and their squad strength.

Victory could see the Avenue Street men extend their lead over Eccles to nine points and deliver a body blow to their rivals in and around the danger zone.

But Bolton’s senior chairman Jon-Paul Hardman – one of a number of players on an injury list that has hit the club hard in recent weeks – knows anything they gain will be hard-earned against the team that pipped them for the North Lancs and Cumbria Division title last season.

“It will either be a great day with both sides playing open rugby, or a real arm-wrestle,” he said. “Whichever way it goes we know this is a crucial game in our season.

“We always knew it would be tough at this stage because of our limited squad but injuries have affected us badly and have also impacted on the second team. We were without six or seven first-teamers at the weekend, but we we’ve got players coming back – Nick Smith at centre being one of them. We’ve missed his distribution in midfield.

“And we’re hoping (second-rowers) James Brodie and Louis Critchlow, who are back in tandem again, will give us the firepower we’ll need against an Eccles side that is always strong.”

The feeling at Avenue Street is that Bolton need two wins from their final five fixtures to secure a second season at level six. Two of those are against teams below them in the table – Eccles on Saturday and Wigton at home on April 11 – while three are against top-six opponents – Birkenhead Park and Penrith at home and Wilmslow away.

But Hardman offered a more optimistic view, suggesting “We are capable of winning more than two.”

They will need to be less generous than they were on Saturday when a dropped ball gifted Kirkby Lonsdale an early seven-point lead from which they never fully recovered, despite playing well in patches and defending doggedly to frustrate the visitors.

Victory never looked on the cards but, after trailing 12-3 at half time they mounted a fightback and good forward play brought a try for vice-captain Ash Cooper, who drove over from short range.

Mark Doherty landed the conversion and two penalties but there was disappointment at the end when their efforts to get to within seven points of the Kirkby Lonsdale score to bank a bonus point came to nothing.

While the first team slug it out at Eccles on Saturday, Bolton’s second XV will also be fighting a survival battle back at Avenue Street when they host fellow strugglers Aldwinians in a fixture that could be crucial in their bid to avoid relegation from Raging Bull North West Division One.