Fylde travel the short distance to old adversaries Orrell on Saturday for their most difficult remaining match of the season. Orrell have won ten league games in succession and have already beaten Fylde in the league by 28-13 at the Woodlands and 37-9 at Edge Hall Road in the RFU Cup. This is likely to be the last time these two sides face each other in league action for some time.
Orrell have only lost three matches all season, and two of these were in September (to Stourbridge and Newbury) before the infusion of money and players from the Dave Whelan/Wigan Warriors buy-out. Sedgley Park had an excellent 25-12 win over them in Manchester in October but since then its been a fairly straight forward run in to a promotion place and National One rugby next season. Only two imminent fixtures against runaway leaders Plymouth Albion stand between Whelan, Maurice Lindsay and the rest of the JJB-financed team and the first step of their goal to get Orrell into the Premiership. At this level, the investment of big money (and a large fulltime playing squad) guarantees success.
Whilst Orrell's pack will be tested by the strong Fylde eight, its their devastating backs that will cause most difficulty for the visitors. Although Gary Connolly is likely to have finished his two month sabbatical with the Club (he returns to Wigan next week), there is enough talent in the remaining back line to put most sides to the sword. The key figure throughout the season has been No 10 Phil Jones. He moved from being Wigan's reserve outside half easily into the union code and seems born to it, orchestrating his backs shrewdly and kicking imperiously. Although he missed a number of games through suspension, he still sits in fourth place in National Two's top scorers with 190 points, through seven tries, 31 conversions and 31 penalties.
Jones has been supplemented by other ex-league players of the highest class such as Wes Davies and Andy Craig, together with the excellent Australian, ex-Randwick centre Wade Kelly. Fylde's ex-league centres, Gareth Davies and Phil Hassan, will relish the opportunity to show their considerable talents in comparison.
Up front, the pack has a more familiar look from the previous Orrell era, with Livesey and ex-Fylde hooker Alex Moffat, Chris Bentley and veteran Charles Cusani prominent. No. 8 Nick Easter was a more recent star capture from Rosslyn Park while Samoan prop Tonga Lea'aetoa has also strengthened the side. Cusani's dual with Dave Baldwin will be worth watching closely. Baldwin gives little away and Cusani's short fuse had landed him in a host of disciplinary problems over the years. Moffat, too, is also not renowned for his self-control.
Fylde
will face this challenge without flanker Grant Ferguson, injured
against Stourbridge. He is replaced by Mike Bradwell who substituted
for him in the 2nd half on Saturday. Martin Scott will certainly
relish a challenge against his old club if he is called from the substitutes
bench. Amongst the backs, Dave Wiseman takes over at No 10 and at
full back will be Steve Davidson (pictured right), a versatile three
quarter with Premiership experience, signed temporarily from Sale Sharks.
Fylde: Davidson, Kenyon, Davies, Hassan, Godfrey, Wiseman, Condon, Filipo, McIntyre, Yates, Taylor, Baldwin, O'Grady, Bradwell, Wilson; replacements: Scott, Cassidy, O'Neill, Wallwork.
Orrell: Welding, Davies, Craig, Kelly, Kerfoot, Jones, Wood, Livesey, Pearson, Lea'aetoa, Bentley, Cusani, Bennett, Carroll, Easter; replacements: Giles, Moffat, Monighan, Newton.
Fylde's rugby management still have hopes of bringing highly promising youngster Karl Long back to the Club for a temporary period. The extremely quick and strong winger or centre played a number of games for the 1st Team at the end of last season. He joined Sale Sharks development squad, the Jets, this season and played several matches before breaking a bone in his arm when crashing into perimetre fencing at a game. Tony Todd, Chairman of Rugby, is discussing the possibility of a temporary registration with the Sale management. Karl's brother is Sean Long, the St. Helens & Great Britain rugby league star.
Other matches in National Two on Saturday are:
Esher
v Wharfedale
Harrogate
v Sedgley Park
Kendal
v Plymouth Albion
Nottingham
v Rosslyn Park
Preston
G. v
Newbury
Stourbridge
v Waterloo
Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner National Two newsletter, with full statistical information, (week 18, Word file) is available by clicking here.
Mixed experiences for Fylde in another win
Five tries to two suggests that Fylde achieved a dominant win against their visitors, Stourbridge. With a 26-6 lead at half-time, the match was won for the Lancastrians. Or so it seemed.
Fylde started the match exactly as they did against Preston Grasshoppers. They played with the strong diagonal wind to their advantage. An early lineout was won and the pack set up their trademark driving maul. The first one didn’t succeed. A minute later they got it right and Craig McIntyre was driven over. Ben Godfrey’s conversion drifted just wide in the high wind.
The Stourbridge pack was smaller but combative. Fylde had more possession and kicked their way deep into the visitors’ half. They set up a series of rucks and mauls and Craig McIntyre took a short pass from Gareth Davies to burst over to the left of the posts. Godfrey converted. However, as Stourbridge fought their way into Fylde territory, indiscipline by the home side gave fly half Ben Harvey the opportunity to reduce the deficit to 6-12 with two penalties.
The most bizarre incident of the half saw hooker Craig McIntyre, double try scorer, sprint off the pitch after 20 minutes to be replaced by Martin Scott. Was this an undisclosed injury? Was it a mysterious tactic by coach Dean Kenny? Well, although most of the crowd must have been puzzled, it was rather more straightforward. His wife Katy (daughter of Club Secretary David Walsh) had gone into labour and he rushed off to be with her. [Jessica was born several hours later]. Ten points and his first child – not a bad Saturday for Craig!
Fylde attacked again and, after a series of rucks, Martin Wallwork moved the ball right. Powerful centre Gareth Davies took a short pass and burst his way through Stour’s defence. Godfrey converted to take the score to 19-6. The home side realised that they had to take full advantage of the wind at their backs and pressed on. Another period of pressure saw Stourbridge desperately trying to stop another Fylde driving maul. As Fylde got closer to the line, the Stour forwards collapsed the maul and the referee awarded a penalty try.
Given the relative rareness of such awards, its surprising to note that this is the third penalty try given to Fylde in successive matches. Ben Godfrey converted once again to take his side to a handsome 26-6 halftime lead. The one worrying incident was a protracted delay whilst Fylde flanker Grant Ferguson was helped off the pitch following what looked initially to be a serious injury as he was trapped at the bottom of the collapsed maul. He was taken to hospital for a check up on his neck and was replaced by Mike Bradwell.
Fylde couldn’t have foreseen the difficulties to come. Firstly, they began to kick away good possession by hopeful high infield kicks. The Stourbridge backs caught these and returned them with interest, driving Fylde back into their 20 metre area time and again. This wouldn’t have been so serious if the home side’s lineout didn’t implode completely for 20 minutes. A mixture of poor throwing and dubious decisions and calls by Fylde saw Stourbridge, and their main jumper Nick Tisdale, snatch possession time and again. The visitors exploited these weaknesses to the full. They started to use their talented backs, led by half backs Bruce Fenley and the quicksilver Ben Harvey. Fullback Duncan Hughes and the big, powerful wing Daniel Ferani were also prominent.
During a period of Stour pressure, big wing Rob Myler plunged over for a try. Harvey converted easily to reduce the deficit to 13-26. Then the Stourbridge pack rolled towards the Fylde line and prop Virgil Hartland (who had a bruising all match battle with Alan Yates) drove over the line. Harvey converted to pull the score back to 20-26 to Fylde. There was much head shaking amongst the Fylde players as they realised that they were in real danger of throwing the match away.
Staring this reality in the face, they at last got their act together. Scott began to find his jumpers as the simple tactic of throwing short was belatedly adopted. Throws to the back of the line had been perilous in the high wind yet Fylde had persisted with them time and again with no success.
Fylde battled to the other end of the pitch and started to use their forward dominance. As the backs broke right, quick passing put Nick Kenyon in the clear and he sprinted 40 metres, but his pass went to ground. At a scrum they pushed Stourbridge off their own ball. From another, the excellent No 8 Brent Wilson picked up at the base and weaved his way to the line for a very good try. Godfrey converted to wrap the match up at 33-20. Click here for Steve Simpson's match report for the Evening Gazette. Vernon Davies' report, from a Stourbridge perspective, is also available.
This was a classic ‘game of two halves’. Fylde’s first half dominance, and four tries during that period, led ultimately to a deserved win, but only just. Stourbridge were gritty and talented opponents who refused to give up. In particular, Harvey amongst the backs and Tisdale of the forwards, were impressive throughout. Ferani also looked a talented prospect. On this performance they should have no difficulty in retaining their National Two status.
For Fylde, Gareth Davies was the outstanding back, along with the obdurate Lawrence Condon. David Wiseman, who came on as a replacement, had a very useful 20 minutes at fly half. This was their sixth win in the last seven league games. The Fylde pack played well as a unit, except for the lineout chaos. This will have to be sorted out ahead of next week’s Orrell game.
Fylde: Godfrey; Kenyon(N), Hassan, Davies, Evans; Wallwork (Wiseman), Condon; Filipo, McIntyre (Scott 20), Yates, Baldwin, Taylor, Ferguson (Bradwell), O’Grady, Wilson. Replacement not used: Cassidy
Fylde
announced on Saturday (and reported in Monday's Daily Telegraph) that they
have released backs coach Steve Gough. In all matches this season
he has scored 97 points (1 try, 24 penalties and 10 conversions), taking
his Fylde career record to over 1,400 points. He played for the club from
1985 until 1998 when he joined Coventry. He had two seasons there before
moving to Birmingham & Solihull in 2000. He rejoined Fylde in a player-coach
role at the beginning of the current season. He's been a great servant
of the Club.
Good luck Goughie in whatever you move on to next!
Elsewhere in National Two the most interesting score was at Blundellsands where Waterloo beat Preston by 34-22, outscoring them by five tries to one. Only Ged Glynn's boot, with 5 penalties and a conversion, kept 'Hoppers in the game. Waterloo were strengthened by the on loan signings from Leeds of prop Martin O'Keefe and No 8 Ian Clarke. If its confirmed that three clubs are relegated at the end of the season, then the hopes of 'Loo, Preston & Rosslyn Park (who lost narrowly at home to Harrogate) must rely on one of them getting past Stourbridge, the only side that looks in danger. Based on Stour's performance at the Woodlands, they would seem to have sufficient talent to keep them in the division.
At the top, the Plymouth juggernaut rolled on with a comprehensive 57-10 win over Newbury, during which they scored nine tries, three by leading league scorer Dan Ward-Smith. Orrell struggled to beat a game Wharfedale outfit by 18-8, whilst Sedgley Park narrowly beat Esher at home by 20-16. Plymouth need, effectively, only to win three more of their eight remaining games to secure promotion. However, the chase between Orrell and Sedgley Park for the second promotion spot is still a keen one.
Injury news
Long term injury casualty
Andy
Atkinson
,
who had such a promising start to his career at the Club before suffering
a serious cruciate ligament injury in late September, is seen each week
at Fylde's first team games running up and down the touchlines. Whilst
he has clearly recovered from this major injury very quickly, coach Dean
Kenny is keeping him for next season, until a full recovery has been made.
Stuart Connell who suffered a serious pelvic injury at Stourbridge in October is training but doesn't expect to play competitive rugby again this season. He is currently helping out Brendan Hanovan in coaching the Wanderers. As a knowledgeable and respected player, his advice is obviously going down well as the performance of the side has improved immeasurably in recent weeks.
It was good to see the recent comeback in the Wanderers of Gavin Moffat, the immensely talented but injury jinxed No 10 or fullback. Moffat hasn't played regular rugby for four seasons due to a succession of knee and other injuries. Good luck to all of them!
Preview of Stourbridge game
Fylde
will hope to put their misfiring performance at Lightfoot Green behind
them when they take on Stourbridge at the Woodlands on Saturday. This will
be Stourbridge's first visit to the Fylde coast. The Club has substantiated
its position in the league structure, culminating with the championship
of National Three (North) last season, in which they edged out Sedgley
Park.
They started this season in the same fashion, winning three out their first four games, including a home win over Orrell. However, more recently they have struggled to keep up this trajectory of success, losing six out of their seven league matches. They have found it particularly hard going at home where they have lost six of their nine matches. Indeed, Fylde earned a handsome 35-12 away win in October.
They have a strong link with National One high achievers and neighbours, Worcester, from who they have obtained a number of players. Most notable of these is the well travelled scrum-half Bruce Fenley. Their most outstanding back is flyhalf/fullback Ben Harvey (174 points to date, made up of 2 tries, 25 conversions and 38 penalties; success rate of 72%). He is currently fifth top scorer in National Two behind Mike Scott (Kendal), Jonathan Gregory (Esher), Jonathan Davies (Wharfedale) and Phil Jones (Orrell).
Other notable backs are centre Dominic Feaunati and the massive Kiwi wing (or occasional No 8!) Daniel Farani. Virgil Hartland is a well known prop forward on the national league circuit. Rob Sigley plays his second game after signing from Moseley. Whilst they are clearly an inconsistent side, Fylde would be ill advised to take them lightly. On their day they can be highly dangerous.
As for Fylde, they will be looking for their third double of the season (Newbury and Waterloo already in the hat) and their sixth win in the last seven matches. Eric Peters injured a knee whilst training at Sale and has played his last game for the Club. Good luck to him on his couragous battle to return to top level rugby.
Richard Kenyon is out with a back problem, so Steve Gough steps in to his place at fullback. Craig McIntyre retains his place at hooker despite Martin Scott's availability after suspension.
Fylde: Gough; N Kenyon, Hassan, Davies, Godfrey; Wallwork, Condon; Filipo, McIntyre, Yates, Taylor, Baldwin, Ferguson, O'Grady, Wilson. Replacements: Scott, Cassidy, Bradwell, Evans.
Matches elsewhere in National Two are:
Kendal
v Nottingham
Plymouth A
v Newbury
Rosslyn P
v Harrogate
Sedgley P
v Esher
Waterloo
v Preston G
Wharfedale
v Orrell
Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner National Two newsletter (week 17, Word file) is available by clicking here.
Ball boys return to 1st Team matches
Over the last few home games spectators will have noticed that ball boys have made a welcome return to Fylde’s home fixtures. This important and helpful duty is the idea of the Fylde Under 12s who are trying hard to raise money for their forthcoming tour of Yorkshire on the 12th- 14th April.
Your support over the last few weeks is much appreciated and has helped raise much needed funds for the tour and any further support you might be able to give, either by adding to their collections after matches, or in any other way would be really helpful. If you can assist please contact Head Coach Andy Eastick on 01253 886778.
Fylde Annual Dinner, 20th February 2002
7.00 for 7.30 PM
The speakers at this year’s dinner are, our own Bill Beaumont, the President of Lancashire RU, and Mike Lewis of Stourbridge RUFC. Tickets priced at a give away price of £20.00 each are on sale at the club bar. Or from the following members of the Social Committee: Mike Hornby, Allan Townsend, Les Jones, Brian Barnard, Sean Townsend and Patrick Townsend. Please try to attend and make this year's dinner one to remember.
Dress - Lounge Suits or Blazer and Club Tie
Lytham fund raising: wax on, wax off in the Club House
Steve Stead reports another dramatic development in the Auction of Pledges event on February 8th (7.30pm in the Club House). Great acts of player self sacrifice will be made during the interval. Don't miss it!
Memories from 5, 10 and 15 years ago
Click here for more memories from Neil Withington, drawn from the Club's Archives
Fylde have been drawn at home to Widnes in the first round of The John Burgess Lancashire Cup, sponsored by Thwaites. The match will take place at The Woodlands on Sunday 17th February, the day after the England against Ireland fixture at Twickenham. Widnes are currently in third place in South Lancashire & Cheshire Division One having won eight of their thirteen matches played to date. Last Saturday they lost narrowly to fellow promotion hopefuls Aspull by 18-19. Despite being four leagues below Fylde they will certainly be up for the cup tie as they have beaten us before in this competition.
The full draw is:
Liverpool
St.Helens v Birchfield
Fylde
v Widnes
Oldham
v Orrell
Warrington
v Broughton Park
Rochdale
v Preston Grasshoppers
Aspull
v Sedgely Park
Waterloo
v Manchester
Vale
of Lune v West Park
The
second round will be on Sunday 24th March, the semi-finals on Sunday
21st April, and the Final on Monday 6th May.
(28/1/2002)
Uninspiring fare at Lightfoot Green
Fylde’s 17-5 win at Preston Grasshoppers’ Lightfoot Lane ground on Saturday was predictable but uninspiring. The players on both sides tried their hardest but the sodden pitch, strong crossfield wind and a highly capricious referee ruled throughout. An early try by Dave Baldwin (his first for the Club) from a driving maul, converted beautifully by Ben Godfrey, separated the sides for most of the match.
Despite having more possession than the visitors in the first half, Preston could not make any inroads against Fylde’s impressive defence. Time and again they attempted to move the ball in midfield but each time they were either swallowed up by fierce tackling or made handling mistakes. Unfortunately, such mistakes were not only the prerogative of the home side. Fylde, too, made far too many mistakes, even allowing for the tricky conditions.
Once in the lead, Fylde seemed content to let ‘Hoppers have their share of the ball and wait for mistakes. It made for frustrating viewing. The visitors had much more of the second half but could only add a penalty kick by Steve Gough (who replaced Godfrey with 25 minutes to play) to stretch the lead to 10-0. Fylde suffered some disruption when Lawrence Condon left the field after suffering a blow on the head near the end. Once again, the slightly built scrum-half gave a brave and fearless performance. In the last few minute of ordinary time, Preston’s efforts were rewarded when the bulky winger Russell Flynn forced his way over on the left. Chris Glynn, who had kicked well from hand throughout the match, missed the conversion.
Fylde battled back downfield and should have scored in a series of attacks. Richard Kenyon’s dropped goal attempt was eventually charged down and Preston momentarily had a chance to break and snatch a most unlikely win. This move broke down but Gareth Davies scurried back to cover 40 metres from the home line. He broke, kicked ahead, gathered the ball and passed to Kenyon who was unceremoniously tripped with the line at his mercy. Referee Seeley awarded a penalty try, which Steve Gough converted. So 17-5 it was when the referee blew the final whistle.
It has to be said that referee Chris Seeley managed to do a rather difficult thing. He united ‘Hoppers and Fylde supporters in their criticism of him! Many of his decisions were puzzling and he refereed in a way that was not sympathetic to the conditions. Almost in frustration at his own performance and with a few mintes remaining, he sinbinned Brent Wilson rather harshly for preventing release of the ball. It was pretty unedifying viewing and Fylde will quickly want to forget about the game. They did enough to take the two league points, but not much more. Its a measure of the anticipation of performances by the Woodlands club's strong squad that a 17-7 win over local rivals seemed such an anti-climax. In previous seasons this win would have been celebrated from the rooftops! Steve Simpson's report in the Evening Gazette fairly sums up the match. A 'Hoppers view of the game is available on their website.
You had to feel sorry for Preston. Unless a restructuring of National One & Two saves them (and the current talks about a merger between National One clubs Birmingham and Moseley might), they look destined for certain relegation. On this performance, this would be hard on their pack who gave as good as they got from the strong Fylde eight.
Fylde: Kenyon(R); Kenyon(N), Hassan, Davies, Godfrey (Gough); Wallwork, Condon; Filipo, McIntyre, Yates, Baldwin, Taylor, O'Grady, Ferguson, Wilson. Unused subs: Cassidy, Bradwell, Williams.
Preston: Glynn, Lough(T), Monaghan, Chesworth (Barrow), Flynn, Bailey, Du Pre, Fenton (Chadwick), Horton, Shepherd, Williams, Hufferdine, Welsh, Lough, Parkinson. Unused subs: Porteous and Jebb
Elsewhere in National Two, it would be reasonable to argue that promotion matters have, in effect, been settled after Orrell's comprehensive 43-16 win over Sedgley Park. The six tries to one score line spoke for itself. Amongst the try scorers were rugby league converts Phil Jones (2), Wes Davies and Gary Connolly. Orrell are now in second place in the division, on points difference, but with two games in hand over Park. There is no sign that they are faltering in their chase of leaders Plymouth Albion. There is one main proviso - Orrell and Plymouth have not yet met this season. Their clashes at Plymouth on February 16th and at Edge Hall Road on 6th April may give Sedgley Park hope that they can still press hard for the second promotion spot.
Whilst there were no real surprises in other matches, Waterloo and Rosslyn Park suffered the usual luck of the underdogs. Waterloo lost a 17-10 halftime lead to go down 20-22, whilst Park pressed Esher even closer but lost by 16-17. Depending on any league restructuring, both clubs look certain relegation candidates. Nottingham were 0-19 down at half-time at home to Plymouth but put in a gritty second half performance to lose eventually by 13-26.
An excellent display of allround rugby saw the Wanderers beat Preston Grasshoppers at the Woodlands by 43-5. After losing ten and drawing one of their first eleven Northern Merit Table matches, they have now won three successive games. From being rock bottom in early December, they have climbed to tenth or eleventh position with this win. The support and advice given by Stuart Connell and others from the sidelines, as well as the hard work and commitment by the players on the pitch, have contributed significantly to this turnaround. Having good young (and not so young) players, many of them with 1st team experience, has also made a difference!
Here's what a contributor to the Fylde Message Board says of the game:
"Those of you not at the Woodlands on Saturday missed an impressive performance by the Wanderers. Preston were run ragged in both the forwards and the backs. Lineouts were superb and scrums solid. The backs punched holes in the defence all afternoon. Score should have been more but the team went to sleep for 20 mins in the 2nd half. Final score 43-5."
Tries:
Godfrey(T)
2, Carson, Trend, Wiseman, Kerr,
Ellis
Conv:
Moffat
4
Congratulations also to Lytham, who made it a treble on Saturday with a 17-7 home win over Old Bedians in North Lancs One. They sit comfortably in midtable, with seven wins from twelve games. Fleetwood head the table with
Does Fylde "have much to offer" other than a big pack?
Fylde look forward to Saturday's local clash with Preston Grasshoppers at Lightfoot Green this coming Saturday. They will be anxious to beat their rivals and bury the memory of their worst performance of the season when they lost comprehensively at the Woodlands by 10-21. After that match Preston's coach, Brian Wellens, made his judgement about Fylde, quoted in the Evening Gazette. "We know from having watched Fylde that they can drive the ball forward 25 yards and can beat teams up front. But if teams can combat that, as we did, then they don't have much else to offer."
Well, we'll see. Whatever the outcome of the match, Fylde have shown that they are more than just a hefty pack. The backs are more confident and, as against Newbury, have shown that they can give the side a broader basis of attack. They have won four of their last five matches. Meanwhile, 'Hoppers languish in the lower reaches of the division.
Top scorer for Preston is prolific fullback Chris Glynn, with 160 points (6 tries; 14 conversions; 33 penalties; 1 DG). He is ranked 6th amongst National Two scorers. He lies 16th in terms of kicking consistency, with a 63% record. The Preston side which played at Wharfedale last Saturday is pretty similar to their lineup against Fylde earlier in the season, with one interesting exception. Australian and Club Captain, Michael Lough, normally calling the shots at flyhalf, was at openside flanker. This must have been because of injuries to established backrow personnel such as Neil Ashton.
Since beating Fylde in October, Preston have won one match (home to Rosslyn Park) and lost eight, scoring 122 points and conceding 321. If Fylde manage to win, they will hammer a perhaps conclusive nail in 'Hoppers relegation coffin. 'Hoppers were heavily defeated (8-59) at Wharfedale on Saturday (their sixth successive defeat) and seem to have an unequal struggle to avoid the drop to National Three, along with Waterloo and Rosslyn Park who lost to pacesetters Plymouth and Orrell respectively. Its with no glee at all that we see this fate for two of our Lancashire rivals. The North West needs strong rugby clubs and their relegation, if it happens, will put that cause in danger.
Fylde didn't seem to suffer any obvious additional injury problems by the end of the Newbury game. Eric Peters appears likely to extend his brief sojurn on the Fylde coast (by the way, good luck in getting a contract with Sale, Eric!) and may be available for selection for the 'Hoppers and Stourbridge matches. Its to be hoped that Brent Wilson will be fit to join Eric in the backrow for the first time. If he isn't, Grant Ferguson may well retain his place, although Mike Bradwell and Graeme Tasker are knocking on the door.
Its a measure of how big this game is to the Fylde rugby management that an extra training session for the pack was organised during the week. This was despite their outstanding performance against Newbury. The search for excellence and continuous improvement is laudable. It certainly seems that the October defeat by 'Hoppers at the Woodlands left such a bitter taste that the Club is determined to do all it can to exact revenge.
Elsewhere in National Two on Saturday, the biggest game (possibly of the rest of the season) is the visit of second place Sedgley Park to Orrell who lie in third spot. If Orrell beat Park, they will be level on points with them and with two matches in hand. Given the pattern of their performances to date since Dave Whelan's take-over and infusion of money and players, this is a lead they are unlikely to give up. The ambitions of the Club's new owners are clearly an early Premiership challenge. They have just announced the appointment of a new coach for next season. He is ex-Wallaby No.8 Ross Reynolds who is currently coaching Sydney University. He is expected to arrive for a brief visit in February before starting fulltime in June. Ex-rugby league supremo, Maurice Lindsay, who is now chairman of Orrell, is behind the appointment. But the links with the past are often casualties of such change. Orrell legend and current Director of Rugby, Sammy Southern, has publicly welcomed the appointment although it is unclear what his position or that of the other coaches working with the team this season will be next year.
And as for Saturday, Sedgley Park are unlikely to be willing to give up second place without a real fight. And they have proved to be a resilient and skillful outfit with plenty of their own ambition. Edge Hall Road will be an interesting place to be.
See Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner newsletter (Word file) for a summary of National Two just past the halfway mark for the season.
Esher
v Rosslyn Park
Harrogate
v Kendal
Newbury
v Waterloo
Nottingham
v Plymouth
Albion
Orrell
v Sedgley Park
Stourbridge
v Wharfedale
Congratulations to Greg Nicholls (Arnold School & Lancashire) who has been selected for the biggest game of his short career when he plays at scrum-half for England U'18s against New Zealand at Twickenham on January 30th. Greg learnt his early rugby through Fylde's Mini-Juniors. Kirkham GS student Mark Hansonhas been selected at prop for the game. Good luck to both lads!
Auction pledges - Lytham fund raising
Lytham RUFC are auctioning an excellent collection of pledges on Febrary, 8th February at Fylde's Clubhouse. These include holidays, gourmet meals, health treatment and many other valuable and unique experiences. Click here for the full list.
Fylde batter Newbury into submission
Fylde ran up their biggest win for five seasons when they overcame a weakened Newbury side by 39-3 at the Woodlands on Saturday. The headline maker was Ben Godfrey who scored a hat trick of tries (and 19 points in all) but the heroes were the home pack who pushed their opponents all over the pitch. This was a tremendous performance by the forwards, surely the strongest eight fielded by the Club since the days of Steve Bainbridge, Wade Dooley and Andrew Macfarlane in the mid-1980s. However, the fact that Newbury were missing at least half their first choice side through injury reduced the significance of the win somewhat.
But the afternoon started unpromisingly for Fylde. Outstanding backrow prospect Brent Wilson was ruled out through injury, and temporary registrant, ex-Scotland international Eric Peters, continued at No.8, with Grant Ferguson coming in at blindside and Dylan O’Grady moving to the openside. For the first fifteen minutes of the match, with the strong wind at their backs, they carried on with the slapdash form they showed at Waterloo the previous week. Silly errors, misjudgements and poor lineout work meant that a lot of possession was wasted. Newbury gradually worked their way upfield and when one of the home forwards offended, flyhalf John Martin converted the penalty. He missed another kick a little later and it proved one of the few real chance the visitors had.
For the next 20 minutes it was one way traffic with a vengeance. It was Fylde’s tried and tested tactic which got the scoreboard moving. A concerted maul after a lineout saw Dylan O’Grady driven over with Ben Godfrey converting beautifully from the right corner into the diagonally driving wind. The lighter Newbury eight had no answer to this mauling tactic. The only way they found to stop it was to bring it down illegally, and referee Paul Dix penalised them frequently.
Fylde's pack secured possesion once more and drove again, this time, audaciously, from 35 metres out. On and on went the maul, snaking right and then left toward the line. When it was a couple of metres out it collapsed and referee Dix awarded a penalty try. Godfrey converted from in front of the posts to make it 14-3.
Another lineout near the Newbury line five minutes later, a repeat move and O'Grady was again driven over for an unconverted try. 19-3 to Fylde. Spectacular it was not, but the driving maul was incredibly effective. The Fylde backs hadn’t seen much action up until then. But, as the forwards again won possession 20 metres away from the Newbury line, Lawrence Condon moved the ball quickly on the blindside and Ben Godfrey streaked over in the left corner.
More possession for the home side, another lineout and the predictable result, this time with hooker Craig McIntyre being the last man up. This blitz of scoring saw Fylde 29-3 ahead at the break and worried looks on the faces of the Newbury coaching staff. It was a long way to travel to get stuffed in this fashion.
With the second half into the strong wind, it was never going to be as easy for Fylde as the first 40 minutes. Newbury regrouped and played some neat rugby. But heavily outgunned up front, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for them to make headway. The halfback pairing of Will Green and John Martin looked good. Behind a full strength pack and on another day they would test many sides in the division.
After 52 minutes Fylde scored the try of the day. Their backs moved left, the influential Phil Hassan made a halfbreak, and the ball eventually found Ben Godfrey and he squeezed in at the left corner. For once this season, the backs were warming to their task. After 70 minutes, the Fylde forwards won first, second and third phase possession 20 metres out on the right. As the Newbury cover was sucked in to defend their line, the Fylde backs moved the ball left. Richard Kenyon drew his man and passed to Godfrey who had acres of space to collect his third try which he celebrated with a theatrical dive.
This was a good Fylde performance, even against a young Newbury side with more than half their first choice squad missing. The front five worked immensely hard and provided the foundation for the victory. Eric Peters showed glimpses of his high class, particularly in the 2nd half, in his second and final appearance in Fylde colours. Dylan O’Grady had his most impressive game since returning from long term injury, and not only because of his two tries, and Alan Yates (along with skipper Matt Filipo) grafted hard and productively all over the field. Dave Baldwin and Jon Taylor were as hard working as ever.
The home backs came more and more into the match as it progressed. Gareth Davies and Phil Hassan showed power in the centre and Ben Godfrey is getting better and better on the wing. Its been a long time since a Fylde player scored a hat trick of tries in a match, and his finishing is becoming very sharp. He has now scored seven tries in seven matches. Nick Kenyon, brother of Richard, made his debut on the right wing and looked a strong runner, although he had relatively few opportunities to show his paces. Click here for Steve Simpson's report in the Evening Gazette's
Fylde: Kenyon(R); Kenyon(N), Hassan, Davies, Godfrey; Wallwork, Condon; Filipo, McIntyre (Williams 75), Yates, Baldwin, Taylor, Ferguson (Bradwell 65), O'Grady, Peters.
Orrell's Great Britain rugby league star, Gary Connolly, emulated Ben Godfrey by scoring a hat trick of tries at Rosslyn Park.