BOLTON School enjoyed a feast of rugby union this week, hosting its annual under-15s sevens tournament while the U16s side lifted the Lancashire Plate.

The U16s put in a valiant effort to beat a strong Morecambe outfit 20-10 in the Plate final.

Coach Paul Fernside described their performance as "one of the best displays of defensive rugby ever produced by a Bolton School side".

Time and again they were tested, but through a combination of desperate last-ditch tackling and ruthless counter-attacking rugby they found a way to win.

Morecambe were first on the scoreboard with a try that came against the run of play.

But Bolton hit back with a penalty before two quick tries handed them a 13-5 lead at half time.

Playing with the wind behind them, the large, physical Morecambe side came back into the game, they came up against some determined tackling and were unable to break the Bolton lines.

Then, with 10 minutes remaining, the Bolton forwards turned the ball over and Rohan Patel set off for the try line, sprinting 60 metres before a high tackle prevented him from scoring.

The referee awarded a penalty try, which was comfortably converted by Jamie Currie.

Morecambe managed a quick reply, scoring out on the wing before missing the conversion attempt.

But Bolton held on for a well-deserved win, the organised outfit marshalled superbly throughout by captain Patrick Hargreaves.

Coach Fernside said: "Congratulations to the whole squad and a big thank you to all the supporters who travelled to the match."

The U15s narrowly missed out on making it a Lancashire Plate double after losing 15-10 in the final.

They were beaten in the final by AKS Lytham, who also won the annual u15s sevens tournament at Bolton School.

A total of seven schools – Bolton School, AKS, Audenshaw, Merchant Taylors, Kirby Lonsdale, Kirham, Hutton and Rivington and Blackrod – entered the tournament, competing for the main Cup, Plate and Bowl.

AKS were crowned overall winners after beating Audenshaw 31-19 in the final, while Merchant Taylors overcame Kirby Lonsdale 19-5 in the Plate final.

Bolton School’s A team made it to the quarter-finals of the main competition, where they lost out to eventual winners AKS, while the B team were beaten by Kirby Lonsdale in quarter-finals of the Plate, and the C team lost to Rivington and Blackrod in the Bowl final.