Fylde travel to Loughborough Students on Saturday 24th January and play at a very unusual kick-off time - 18.45. Arguably the best university squad in the UK, the Students had agreed to Fylde's request in September to a Friday evening kick-off to open the Woodlands new floodlights. Unfortunately, there were delays in the project and the game reverted to its normal Saturday afternoon schedule. This time, the Loughborough management asked Fylde for a reciprocal favour - to a later than normal start time so as to attract a big student crowd to the game at the superbly appointed University stadium. Loughborough's Director of Rugby Alan Buzza explains: "We're just experimenting with KO times. The vast majority of our crowd are students. It may be that we can pull a bigger crowd and create a better atmosphere with an evening start."

The Students will be looking to turn around the 30-52 defeat they suffered in a nine-try spectacular at the Woodlands on that fine September day. And Fylde will have to raise their poor away form to come away with points in their attempt to close the gap on ever more convincing leaders Caldy & Nuneaton. Fylde have played six away games to date and have won two and lost four.

Loughborough University is an elite centre for sport and has always produced great rugby players under its previous manifestation as Loughborough College. Indeed, Fylde had a long standing fixture with the students which was a casualty of the introduction of league rugby in the mid-1990s. The last game between the clubs before the September contest was 17 years ago, on 5th October 1991, when Fylde travelled to Leicestershire and won by 34-18. Fylde's try scorers that day included winger Jim Muir(2), flanker John Nicholson (2) and the Russell brothers, Gareth & Andy.
 
Apart from the British Universities competition which includes the other major rugby playing institutions, Loughborough decided to enter the RFU league system a few years ago. Given that they attract some of the very best young rugby talent in the UK then it's hardly surprising that they have worked their way from regional competitions up to the national leagues. What is more astonishing - given the nature of student terms, the three-year turnover of student cohorts, the fact that unlike almost every club in N3N they don't pay players, and the solid nine months length of the season - was their ability to maintain a successful team in these leagues each season. But somehow they manage it, unlike any other UK university team, and have done so in style.

But the Students have a number of great advantages. They have superb facilities, access to some of the very best coaching around and a back-up team of physiologists, nutritionists, conditioning coaches, and, most importantly, an unsurpassed elite sporting culture. They also have a squad of more or less full-time players, give or take a little studying at the periphery! National Three (North) clubs have come across a squad of young players in great physical shape and many with the natural talent to go to the top of the professional game.

Loughborough has always had the reputation for playing an open, fast and entertaining style and their national league squad maintains this tradition. But no one should get the impression that this is a team of carefree students, tactically naive, who just want to play a Corinthian kind of 'devil may care' rugby. Under lead coach Dave Morris, their squad includes a number of players who've already tasted the heat of battle in professional rugby so there's little doubt that they're streetwise.

Their squad includes a very quick backline featuring fullback Peter Clarke (ex-Bedford), wingers Mike Coady (England Students) & Simon Lilley (Hull Ionians), former Henley centre Nathan Lambden and the very influential pairing of fly-half Paul Trendell (ex-Westcombe Park) and scrum-half Henry Pyrgos (Northampton Saints Academy).

Their pack features Ireland U'19 no 8 Daniel Falvey, lock Simon Pitfield (England U'19s, England Students & Northampton Saints 'A' team) and flanker Jamie Cullen (Wales U'20s & Cardiff Blues Development squad). But perhaps the man of the season so far has been Harlequins 'A' no 8 Phil Burgess who has been quite outstanding and is one of the ten Loughborough Students who have been chosen for the 2009 England Students squad. 

Whilst the Students do struggle sometimes in the tight exchanges as at the Woodlands when the Fylde front row shoved their pack backwards at a rate of knots, the new Experimental Law Variations do allow a more open, frenetic kind of rugby which is very difficult to close down into a grim forwards' battle.

This season is the Students' first in the National Leagues and has been a voyage of discovery. They struggled early on but are now sitting in mid-table in National Three (North) and look perfectly safe from relegation. This is especially true when their extra fitness and two late tries consigned relegation haunted Mowden Park to a 8-20 defeat in the North East last Saturday.

They have selected a strong squad for the match:

15 Grant Pointer; 14 Pete Smith, 13 James Golledge, 12 Owen Lewis, 11 Dave Vincent; 10 Paul Trendell, 9 Will Chudley; 1 Matt Berry/Sam Staff, 2 Jason Phipps, 3 Tom Urpens, 4 Stuart Bale, 5 Jon Aston, 6 Evan Stewart (c)/Mike Macfarlane, 7 Jamie Cullen/Evan Stewart, 8 Phil Burgess.

Representatives: 16 Sam Staff/Tom Hobbs, 17 Jim Henry/George Thomas, 18 Simon Pitfield, 19 Ben Robson, 20 Simon Lilley.

Fylde make changes as Richard Kenyon retuns as outside centre in place of the injured Tom Albinson (damaged ankle), Darren Clark starts at prop instead of Sam Simpson (also an ankle injury) and Grant Ferguson replaces no 8 Sam Beaumont (damaged groin). Richard Kenyon, who has suspended his premature retirement by making a couple of league appearances so far this season, reaches the landmark of 200 appearances for the club.

At the other end of the scale, one of Fylde's most promising local youngsters, prop forward Kieran Brookes, makes his 1st team debut amongst the replacements. 18 year old Brookes is studying for his 'A' levels at Kirkham Grammar School and is already an Irish U'18 international.

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