Bolton Rugby Club’s senior men’s team remain rooted to the foot of the Northern Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire League after a 44-10 home defeat to Tarleton last weekend.

After an unlucky result the week before, Bolton went into this game with high hopes.

However, the absence of a few key players and their captain was not going to do them any favours.

In the earlier fixture in the year, the game was close with Tarleton taking it in the last 20 minutes - a lack of fitness from Bolton evident as the game wore on.

This time around, the game started with a Bolton kick which was ran straight back at them, forcing big tackles from the forwards.

Tarleton definitely had the bigger pack, but even with this advantage they still struggled to break through Bolton’s line.

It seemed like it was at a stalemate with both teams battling for possession until a penalty from Bolton set Tarleton up for a chance of three points which they gladly took.

After a bit of time for Bolton to catch their breath, they gathered themselves and went back at it.

It did not take them long to reply, as they turned over the ball and set off down the pitch.

With the pressure on, Tarleton started making mistakes which ended in a penalty for Bolton. This was kicked into touch, giving them a lineout in a dangerous position, and after a well-worked move, Rory Biggins dived over the line to give Bolton the score. The try was converted, giving them the lead - but it would prove to be the only try for Bolton on the day.

The restart saw Bolton in their own half with some big carries from their forwards, and it was looking good until the ball was turned over giving Tarleton another penalty which gave them another three points.

It was from here the game changed as the visitors went on to get two more in quick succession giving them the lead, although it wasn’t long for the penalties to go Bolton’s way as they also added three points to their score.

With the score now 12-10, it brought Bolton back closer to the away team and was looking good as half time neared.

But raised hopes were dashed by a well-worked try from Tarleton making it 19-10 going into the break.

The second half started with Bolton receiving for the last time this game and from this point it was clear Tarleton aimed to increase their lead.

Bolton had some big carries but to no avail as the ball was lost and Tarleton scored another try.

As in the first meeting, a lack of fitness seemed to get the better of Bolton as they conceded another three tries taking the score to 44-10.

This was not helped by two yellow cards from Bolton’s number nine and 10, which left them with 13 men.

The away team took advantage of this fact, yet Bolton never gave up and stuck at it until the end.

This was not one of Bolton’s better games of the season but there was a clear improvement in certain areas, which gave them something to take away to build on.