Bolton's second team end drought in style

After winning their first eight league and cup games of the season the Bolton side’s success dried up and they did not win throughout November and December.

But they saw off Vale of Lune with a dominant performance with 12 tries scored, four of them for Brad McClure.

Their opening kick was followed up by an strong offensive display as McClure scored his first try inside the first five minutes.

A second try followed swiftly with some impressive attacking, Tom Evans making the key pass to send McClure in again.

Vale replied to the impressive Bolton start with a persistent attack, and camped out in the Bolton 22 for numberous phases.

Although the Bolton defence stayed strong, their discipline let them down and a number of consecutive, though questionable, offences led to a penalty try for the visitors, who added their second try soon after.

Undeterred, Bolton remained strong and another try saw them end the half 22-12 ahead.

The second half allowed the hosts to enter their own, and a dominant set piece –led by the spearhead of Chris Turner, James Franks and Matthew Parish – showed the young talent how it’s done.

Line outs and scrummaging became a formality with captain Rory Biggins flawless in his line-out accuracy from hooker.

Jonny Wallis and Tom Crook were strong in their support of the front row, and their strength ensured that Bolton dominated in the scrum.

The dominant set piece and breakdown allowed inside centre Mitchell Ashcroft to run the show in the backs, with a total of eight tries scored in the second half, with excellent play from the whole team.

Despite the departure of team coach Peter Marriott the game was a timely reminder of the young talent the team has to offer, such as McClure, Tom Crook, Matthew Chowdhury, Jonny Wallis, Tom Evans, Harry Dawber and Connor Orrell, all of whom are proving to be exciting prospects for the years to come.