BOLTON RUFC were resigned to relegation this weekend after a disappointing 43-17 loss against fourth-placed Penrith.

Going into the game the Cherry and Whites knew they had to better Eccles’ result against Carlisle to guarantee their North One West Division status.

But with Eccles running out 60-14 winners, Bolton’s home fixture proved to be just a formality.

Coach Nick Holmes said: “We were playing well and were in the game for the first hour.

“In the end though we just ran out of steam, they were too strong and too quick.”

Not aware of what was happening in the Eccles game, Bolton started off like their lives depended on it, opening the scoring through James Brodie who converted with a pushover try.

Penrith were soon level though when James Hogg ran in under the posts after a successful line-out.

Harlan Corrie added a second for the visitors just before half time when he burst over the line from five metres, but Bolton continued to press and were rewarded with a penalty to go in at half time 12-10 behind.

The game looked to have been put beyond Bolton just after the restart when James Spencer scored a converted try for the Cumbrians, but to the host’s credit, they fought back with a try from James Franks to keep the deficit to two points and remain in the hunt for survival.

Their efforts seemed to take a toll on the team though, and Penrith made them pay with tries from Kris Bratton and a second from Corrie.

Jamie McNaughton completed the scoring for the visitors after tired play by the Bolton defence, and with the defeat the Cherry and Whites were relegated after just one year in the division.

Reflecting on the season, Holmes said: “I’m proud of the lads, we’ve not played at this level before and it was a steep learning curve.

“Towards the end of the season we started struggling with injuries, they just came at a bad time for us.

“It’s been a great experience for everyone involved. We want to get back here next year and now we know what to expect if we do.”

Bolton will play next season in the North Lancashire/Cumbria division, the league they were promoted from in 2013-14.

And Holmes is confident they can repeat that next season.

He added: “With what we have done this year we back ourselves to do well.

"Knowing what it takes to get promoted will stand us in good stead.

“It’s never easy to go through what we did last year though.

"A lot of people know the way we play now after being in a higher division so I’m sure there are going to be a lot of tough games.”