Bolton Blown Away

Wigton effectively put paid to Bolton's outside chance of promotion by overwhelming their visitors with a performance that was in complete contrast to last week's unconvincing win over Upper Eden. The Wigton passing, in particular, was a huge improvement being slick and accurate. When a ball was dropped near the end, it was virtually Wigton's only unforced handling error of the game.

Wigton set out their stall with a try from their first possession of the game. A lineout some thirty yards out was driven and good progress made. Ball retention was very good and after a couple of probes by the backs, with fly half Gregg Smith making a half break, the forwards regrouped to set up a maul which drove over the line with hooker Alex Johnston claiming the try. 5-0.

Wigton kept up the momentum by scoring again next time they had the ball. Centre Richard Moffatt pulled off a strong tackle on his opposite number, bringing about a turnover. The ball was moved left and, not for the last time in the match, good handling produced an overlap, which winger Jay Henderson used to crash over. Smith added a fine conversion from a wide position to give Wigton a 12-0 lead.

Bolton looked like they wanted to keep the pace of the game high, tapping and running a couple of early penalties. They struggled to win good ball from set pieces. Their scrum was constantly under pressure, although No 8 Ash Cooper salvaged a decent amount of ball for them. They could not be certain of winning their own lineout ball, with Wigton flanker Jamie Warwick plundering a fair share of Bolton ball as well as winning consistent possession on his own throw. Warwick's work in the line was one of the positives for Wigton last week and this, coupled with an impressive work rate round the pitch, is making him into a very important forward for the Greens.

Wigton won ball on the Bolton throw in their own 22 and a well weighted chip enabled Wigton's chasing players to catch Bolton in possession in their own 22 and bundle the ball carrier into touch. Bolton dabbled with trying to counter Wigton's lineout drives by not contesting the throw. However, this tactic failed to stop Wigton rumbling forward over the line with prop Kevin Robinson emerging with the score. Smith added another good kick to push the lead out to 19-0.

The only blot on Wigton's copybook was a series of penalties conceded in the breakdown area. This gave Bolton the ball, although they were rarely able to make convincing progress. With Wigton dominating, Smith just missed with a long penalty and second row Matt Corrigan almost burst his way brought multiple defenders over the line with Bolton relieved to be awarded a penalty.

Wigton's next foray into the visitors' 22 saw them win a penalty at a line for interference on the jumper. Wigton opted for a scrum. Bolton managed to wheel it away from a big blindside, but No 8 Stuart Creighton and scrum half Dan Reed combined well to slip the ball to Smith who ghosted his way through the defence to score under the posts. The conversion was a formality and moved the scoreboard on to 26-0.

Bolton finally burst into life when they opened play up from a fielded box kick. They made good breaks through the middle and seemed destined to score but dropped the ball under heavy defensive pressure, only a few yards from the line. Following the scrum, Smith, taking the ball in goal, found a marvellous touch on half way, just before the whistle went for half time. Indeed, Smith's tactical kicking was a very impressive aspect of Wigton's play all afternoon with the ball being propelled considerable distances.

In the second half, Wigton started to enjoy themselves with lots of good passing and strong running. Mark Deans came on in the second row and figured prominently. The backs enjoyed a lot of possession with full back Ryan Clark entering the line to good effect. Their next try demonstrated this: Deans put in a typically rumbustuous run and then offloaded, whilst the ball was moved from one wing to the other. Warwick took a good line to get on the outside of a defender, breaking through the middle for a well taken and well earned try. 33-0.
From the restart Deans carried the ball back with venom. Quick ball was moved to the backs and good hands outflanked a narrow defence. Centre Stephen Harris outpaced the last two despairing defenders to score. Once again Smith converted with the lead now 40-0.

Wigton were attacking at will now from all parts of the field as the Bolton defence struggled to keep its shape. The next try was another long range attack, although this time the backs were not quite able to finish off, Creighton stepping up to finish off some hard yards by the forwards with another try. This pushed the score to 45-0.

The next try came from another turnover with Clark reclaiming his own chip to get things going. The ball was passed left. Moffatt made good ground and produced a perfectly timed pass to Aron Henderson on the left wing. He finished the move off well, beating two defenders in the process.
This brought up the half century.

Bolton looked tired as attacks came in from all angles. The handling went through one of those periods where every pass stuck. Flanker Peter Dobson looked to get on the scoreboard but was held up over the line. From the scrum five, Wigton were progressing steadily towards the line when Bolton's scrum half decided to kick the ball out of the scrum. Referee Martin Denvir had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try which Smith converted for a 57-0 lead.

Bolton gamely kept trying to run the ball back at Wigton and fly half Joe Speakman was constantly probing, making one spectacular break deep into Wigton's 22. However, the continuity wasn't there for Bolton and their side of the scoreboard remained stubbornly immobile.

The final try was a set move from a scrum. Blindside winger Aron Henderson took an inside ball off Smith and then Deans continued the move. He couldn't shake off the determined attentions of the diminutive Speakman and the ball went loose. However, Wigton were able to regather and pass wide for Clark to score. Another conversion made the final damage 67 points to nil.

There was just time for one more restart. Deans took a pass, and as he was planning his seventy yard route to the tryline he endeavoured to drop the ball with no defenders in sight. However, Wigton will be delighted to get a hugely improved performance under their belts before making the hard trip to De la Salle next week. As each round of matches goes past, the number of teams with a realistic shout at promotion decreases. Failure to win next week could leave Wigton with a hard job to do.