BOTH sides served up some fine rugby in this pulsating NWCL Premier Division clash.

Bold opened the scoring with a well-struck penalty by Mark Saunders on five minutes before the visitors replied with an unconverted try by big centre Chris McGee.

The home side bounced straight back from this setback though when a mistake by Barrow gifted them possession and a neat pass by Alan Fletcher put second-row Neil Babbs in under the posts. Saunders converted and Bold led 8-4 at the interval.

Playing down the slope in the second half the big Barrow pack began to make inroads and a break by prop Gary Dutton resulted in a try for scrum-half Owen Williamson to tie the scores.

Saunders restored Bold's advantage with a penalty then a good break by home winger Chris Burgess ended with centre Lee Bolton scooting over from a play-the-ball to make it 14-8.

Barrow hit back again though with Dutton crashing over for a converted try to level it up again.

The visitors were on a roll now and when winger Mick Winfield went over for a try it looked all over for Bold.

The Miners refused to lie down though and after great efforts by forwards Ian Lynch, Darren Anders and Ant Parr, Lee Bolton went over for his second try at the corner. Saunders then slotted the ball over from the touchline to earn a well-deserved point for the home men.

Grundy Excavations man-of-the-match for Bold was Neil Babbs with Alan Fletcher and Mark Saunders also playing well.

Bolton Mets 34 Bold Miners A 32

AFTER their cruise through Division Six last season, Bold found life in Division Five more difficult than they imagined as they slumped to this opening-day defeat at the hands of a spirited but limited Bolton outfit.

The visitors started well, racing into a 10-0 lead with tries by Gee and scrum-half Paul Martin.

This prompted complacency in the Bold ranks and Bolton took full advantage with four unanswered tries to lead 24-10.

Shell-shocked Bold hit back with tries by Steve Rybczynski and Dave Haggerty, but Bolton capitalised on calamitous mistakes to increase their lead to 32-22.

More pressure from Bold saw prop John Mayor collect a Gareth Mercer chip-kick to score and a second touchdown by Martin, coupled with Rybczynski's fourth goal tied the match at 32 apiece.

However, Bolton had the final say with a late penalty goal clinching victory.

The QED Scaffolding man-of-the-match for Bold was John Mayor.