Fylde RFC has launched a Centre of Rugby Excellence (CORE) to support the development of the best young rugby talent on the Fylde Coast. The Fylde CORE is a progression of its Academy which has been running for the past year and has been developed in partnership with Sale Sharks and The University of Central Lancashire. The Elite Player Programme assesses young players from the local schools and clubs across the Fylde coast and selecting the very best. These players are helped to achieve North Lancashire, county, regional and national squad recognition.

HOW CORE WORKS

The Structure of the CORE is based on two Player Development Groups for U’14/U’15 & U’16/U’19. These groups meet eight times a year and are an opportunity to work with the players on basic skill development and lifestyle management. There are currently around 40 players in the U14 and U15 group. As the group moves up next year the very best players from the U15s may be selected for the U16/U19 development group or for the Elite Scholarship program.

The Elite Scholarship program can accommodate up to 12 players who will receive further in-depth and one-to-one analysis and coaching, some of this in collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLAN) Sports Science Department. Players are able to move in and out of this system dependent on their development over the seasons.

The first tranche of Scholars are: Tom Burtonwood, Pearse Carson, Charlie Cooke, Alex McWilliams-Grey, Ben Perkins, Kristian Rolland, Sam Russell & Michael Simmons.

The Fylde CORE’s main coaching staff includes its Manager, Alan Holmes (Lancashire U’20s coach), Community Development Manager Dave Wilks (Lancashire U’18s coach) & Fylde Director of Rugby Mark Nelson (Lancashire Senior Coach). These will be supplemented by specialists from UCLAN and other coaches as required.

Alan Holmes said: “The Centre of Rugby Excellence is a highly exciting, innovative initiative which will be a major assistance to the very best of young rugby talent in this part of Lancashire. The early signs are that we are already assisting some exceptionally able players who are progressing very well and Lancashire RFU is in full support of the system we are developing.

“The Centre is there for the benefit of gifted and talented players who will have access to an elite development system, whether they play at local clubs, schools or in one of the Fylde RFC teams. We want to be as inclusive as possible and in particular are developing links to local clubs. We’re encouraged that we are already working with players from Fleetwood Rugby Club’s Junior section and it’s important to us that we develop these links further. I would like to stress that these players are actively encouraged to play for their club and to continue to develop within the fantastic junior setup at Fleetwood RFC.”

“The essence of our role is that we are complementary to the local clubs and county, regional and national development routes for elite young players. With the professional coaches we have available, we are able to deliver elite player development at a local level on the Fylde Coast.”

The Centre’s targets up to 2010 are very ambitious and include:

•    An increase in the number of local players selected for the regional Schools of    
            Rugby, Lancashire County teams, Divisional and National representative squads
•    Develop strong working relationships with local clubs for player development
•    The development of two players per season to feed into National League rugby
•    Four players a season to achieve the RFU’s Elite Player Development Group
            (EPDG) status

Fylde’s Centre of Rugby Excellence is being funded by a generous private donation.         

Further information: Alan Holmes, CORE Manager, Fylde RFC, Blackpool Road, Ansdell, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire FY8 4EL. Tel.: 01253 734733 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it