BOLTON School's chances of reaching the last four of the Daily Mail U18 Vase -and in doing so keeping alive their hopes of an outing at Twickenham -received a useful boost this week from across the River Severn.

Today the Lancashire lads were visiting Solihull Sixth Form College in the quarter-finals. The positive piece of news for them being the fact that their opponents were without their most influential player, fly-half James Ireland, who scored two tries in his side's Round Five win over RGS Worcester.

With Bolton just back from a tour to Ireland while the Vase competition has been a great adventure, and now the team is just two wins from a place in the final at Twickenham on Sunday, March 24, in the Daily Mail Festival of Schools Rugby.

A place in the last four at Castlecroft, Wolverhampton on March 3, when Danford Grammar School will be the opposition, is the next prize, with a chance to play on the most famous turf the ultimate objective.