WESTCLIFF will be bidding to bounce back from a painful opening day defeat when they head to Bury St Edmunds in National Two South tomorrow.

Westcliff suffered a last-gasp 25-24 loss to Dings Crusaders on Saturday.

And scrum half Chris Bolton is determined to get back on track this weekend.

“Saturday was pretty frustrating as we know we left points out there and could or should have won,” said Bolton.

“I was off the pitch at the end so it was even more frustrating watching it rather than playing.

“But we’re over it. We also got two points which is a start and now know that Westcliff are more than capable of competing in this league and if we get into that situation again we’ll be better prepared and won’t lose.”

Bolton was among Westcliff’s try-scorers on his debut against Dings.

And he is pleased to have made the move to the Gables.

“I was sort of looking for a club at a decent level of rugby to play and John Rudd called me up asking if I’d be interested in playing for Westcliff,” said Bolton.

“He’d heard of me through my old school coach and his work colleague, my brother.

“Obviously Westcliff is relatively close for me and they’re in National Two as well so I thought why not and it’s a perfect opportunity to prove my ability.”

Bolton has previously lined up for Southend.

But, more recently, the 22-year-old had been playing abroad.

“I’ve been all over really,” said Bolton.

“After leaving Southend I went and played rugby in Australia for a season and after that I spent almost two years in New Zealand, where I developed my game.

“Last season I came back to the UK and hooked up with Guernsey for a short while in National Two.

“However, things didn’t go to plan for a number of different reasons there so I left and ended up at Westcliff this year.”

Westcliff are lining up in National Two South for the first time in their history.

And Bolton is eager to help the side do well this season.

“Going into Saturday’s game it was difficult to gauge an actual target,” said Bolton.

“It was more give it 110 per cent each game.

“But after that narrow loss I’d definitely say the target should be to stay in National Two, win as many games as possible and take some scalps of the bigger clubs along the way too.

“Bury St Edmunds will be another test for us similar to Dings, but we showed promising signs last week and we want five points this week rather than just two bonus points.”