Fylde face one of their more difficult fixtures of the season on Saturday when they visit Harrogate's Claro Road ground. (Click here for the Club's website and here for a map of the ground.) Harrogate did the double over Fylde last season, winning 31-17 at Claro Road and 18-12 at the Woodlands. Fylde edged home by 13-9 at the Woodlands in September to break this sequence. On that day, the Fylde pack was in dominating form (click here for a report).
Harrogate have had a very steady season, losing mainly against the top teams. At home they have won seven matches, lost three and drawn one. Away from home they have won five games and lost five. Their best performance was probably beating neighbours Wharfedale by 51-36; their biggest defeat was by 3-57 at Plymouth.
Fylde select Gavin Moffat at No 10 for the first time this season. The highly talented 29 year old has had a cruelly injury hit career at Fylde. He has played a sequence of games for the Wanderers since Christmas and has been very influential in their revival. He will undertake the goal kicking duties. Mark Evans replaces Ben Godfrey on the left wing. (Ben plays for the Wanderers against Harrogate 2nds at the Woodlands). Gareth Davies plays one of his last games for the Club before a trip to Australia.
In the pack, Alistair Atkinson makes his first team debut for the Club at flanker, unless (due to injury to Jonathan Taylor) he is called in to the 2nd row. Martin Scott replaces Craig McIntyre at hooker. It looks a pretty powerful eight.
Fylde (probable): R Kenyon; N Kenyon, Hassan, Davies, Evans; Moffatt, Condon; Yates, Scott, Filipo, Baldwin, Taylor, Atkinson, Wilson, O'Grady. Replacements: McIntyre, Cassidy, Wallwork, Tasker or Bradwell.
On the injury front, Grant Ferguson is still troubled with a shoulder injury and will probably miss the rest of the season.
Harrogate's squad has been very stable this season. The line-up to face Fylde includes 12 of the players who started against them in September:
Ed Smithies; Paul Clayton,
Jamie Barker, Matt Duncombe, Graeme Sarjeant;
Lee Cholewa, Rhys Morgan
(c); Richard Melton, Ian Salkeld, Scott Wilson,
John Dudley, Paul Clark
(or Pete Taylor), Rijan Slater, Mike Worden, Richard Wade. Replacements:
Jeremy Marr, Rob Wilson, Mark Erven, Chris Horner
Fullback Ed Smithies is Fylde's bete noir, with six tries in the last four matches against us. Prolific kicking No. 10, Lee Cholewa, has also had a good season, scoring 217 points to date (7 tries, 49 conversions, 27 conversions and a dropped goal), although on the terraces in September visiting supporters offered him enthusiastically to Fylde on a free transfer! The gist of their unflattering comments was that he was frustratingly inconsistent, apart from his kicking that is.
In comparison, old warhorse, ex-Rotherham lock John Dudley (who made his debut for Harrogate at the Woodlands last year) is remakably reliable. He was their outstanding player in the September game and has scored eleven tries so far this season. A summer signing, formerly with Leeds Tykes, is prop Richard Melton. Richard Wade is a free scoring flanker/No 8.
Whatever they have achieved so far this season they have done so with the best disciplinary record in National Two, with just four yellow cards so far.
Harrogate have been friends and rivals of Fylde over many, many years (click here for some background on the Club, courtesy of Stuart Young). Neil Withington has delved into the archives for memories of the Fylde & Harrogateclash in 1959, when Jack Quarmby scored seven tries!
National Two matches on Saturday are:
Esher
v Waterloo
Harrogate
v Fylde
Kendal
v Sedgley Park
Nottingham v
Wharfedale
Orrell
v Newbury
Rosslyn P
v Plymouth Albion
Stourbridge
v Preston Grasshoppers
The Wanderers take on Harrogate 2nds at the Woodlands. The visitors are in fifth place in the league table, with 10 wins from their 17 matches. Please support the boys!
Personnel changes ...
Steve
Gough has joined Preston Grasshoppers in a player/coach role; Carl
Lavin has moved to National Three (South) side Tabard; its also rumoured
that first choice centre Gareth Davies will be released by Fylde
as he is having difficulties with all the travelling to Lytham from Liverpool.
(4/3/2002)
U'15s in Lancashire semi-final
Fylde Under 15's, the defending champions, have a Lancashire Cup Semi Final this Sunday, 10th March, against Rochdale at the Woodlands (ko 11.00). The successful side will play in the final at Preston Grasshoppers on 28th April (ko 13.15) against the winners of the other semi between Vale of Lune and Sedgley Park. Come along and support this very talented team! [Information from coach Neil Williams].
Wanderers and Lytham lose
Fylde Wanderers visited Doncaster on Saturday and went down by 24-52. Although they took an early lead with a try by Aodhan Carson, Doncaster, who played several of their first team squad, took complete control and by the break had run up 40 points. Fylde's tackling was poor, although the handling and running of the home side was very impressive.
The Wanderers improved significantly in the second half with good work from backs and forwards. They scored tries through Royston Mould and Mark Evans (2).
Lytham
also lost away from home when they went down by 18-29 at Eccles.
They sit in the middle of North Lancs One, with eight wins and eight defeats.
(4/3/2002)
National Two update
It looks ever more certain that Orrell will win one of the two promotion places to National One and that Preston Grasshoppers will be relegated to National Three (North). In a generally unconvincing display on Saturday, Orrell overcame a 10-19 deficit at halftime to beat Harrogate by 44-24, outscoring the Yorkshiremen by six tries to two. However, Harrogate's first half performance will give sufficient warnings to Fylde for their game at Claro Road next Saturday.
At the bottom, 'Hoppers were only down by 16-23 at the break in their home match with Newbury but were swamped by the visitors in the second period who eventually ran out 54-24 winners. Stourbridge, struggling desperately to avoid a dogfight with Rosslyn Park for the third relegation place, were 35-10 up at half-time and strolling to an important win at home to Wharfedale. The wheels fell off completely in the second half and they eventually went down by 40-41 in an amazing match. This will give great heart to Rosslyn Park who are now only two points behind them in the league table but who face leaders Plymouth this coming Saturday.
Oh brother, where art thou? (with due acknowledgement to the Coen Brothers and their excellent movie)
At Fylde RUFC, actually. The Club’s latest recruit (signed ahead of this weekend’s transfer deadline) joins his brother to make what must surely be a unique situation in English senior rugby. Fylde already have two pairs of brothers, Ben & Tom Godfrey, Richard & Nick Kenyon, in their 1st team squad. Indeed, all four were on the pitch against Esher on Saturday. Now there’s another pair to contest places in the team.
Circa 1977 Mrs Atkinson gave birth to twin boys. No doubt they were charming babies, though whether they were ‘big’ then is uncertain. Without a thought for rugby team managers and programme editors many years later, Mr. & Mrs. Atkinson gave their boys the same first initial, ‘A’, for Alistair and Andrew. They grew to be very big and powerful youths who, co-incidentally, were both good at rugby.
Eventually they progressed to senior rugby and joined Orrell. Both played for the 1st Team in National One last season (at lock or in the backrow), although Alistair was a regular and Andrew made the first choice XV infrequently. As part of the unravelling of the Orrell squad last summer following relegation to National Three (and before the Wheelan take-over), Alistair left to try his luck at thrusting Wirral club, New Brighton. This was a big capture for the National Three side, and specifically for their Director of Rugby, Alistair Saverimutto.
Andrew, on the other hand, moved off to join Fylde. He played in the 1st Team in the first four matches of the season and created a very good impression with his vigorous and powerful style. Then, sadly, in a routine training session, he ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments which will, more or less, rule him out for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile,
things started promisingly enough for Alistair (pictured left) at
New Brighton. The Club won their first few games and he made a useful contribution.
However, they then lost matches they should have won and there was considerable
heart searching amongst officials and players. Eventually, Alistair’s own
form suffered and his woe was complete when he was sent off for stamping
against Scunthorpe on December 1st. Given his previous disciplinary record,
he was given an eight week suspension and eventually was released from
his contract by the Club.
He signed for Fylde at the end of last week and made his debut in the Wanderers line-up against Manchester last Saturday. Whilst Andy’s injury means that it will be some time before we’ll see both brothers joining the Godfreys and Kenyons, there is little doubt that Alistair Atkinson will be pressing hard for a 1st XV place in the near future. He's 6'5" and around 18st. Welcome to the Club, Alistair!
Other bits and peices: Eric Peters, who played a couple a games for us in February, has moved to National One side Rotherham for the rest of the season. The Yorkshiremen are almost certain championship winners and will be going back to the Premiership next season.
Chris Jones, another player who came to us through the Sale Shark's link and who had seven 1st team appearances this season, made his Premiership debut in Sale's excellent win over Bath last Saturday. Jones, who has just returned from the England Sevens campaign in the World Sevens tounament in the Far East, did very well indeed. His class was all too obvious to those who saw him at the Woodlands. He should go all the way in his rugby career.
Orrell's Phil Jones (ex-Wigan Warriors), who's had a great time this season at Fylde's expense, has been selected for England A against France on Friday evening in Limoges. Its unheard of for any player outside the Premiership to get representative honours such as this. Good luck to him.
Finally, does anyone remember Fylde's E. Ogden from the early 1930's? He has been quoted by a Daily Telegraph reader, Cecil Taylor, as possibly the originator of the 'round the corner' kicking style which everyone now uses. Up until the 1960's, all goal kickers used the 'front on' toe punt. (See the DT, 28th February).
One of our message board contributors ('Timetraveller') substantiates this claim:
"Whoever wrote to the Telegraph as a result of their claim some Irishman priest was the founder of round the corner place kicking is right.
Fylde and Lancashire centre or stand off Edward "Pop" Ogden started this type of kicking in the 1930's and in doing so rang up a prolific points tally- when each kick was not worth as many points. He became known to all and sundry by his nickname Pop-given to him because he popped over kicks from all parts of the field.
Until his death he was a regular attender at The Woodlands with his trademark pipe and was an astute an observer of the modern game as he had been in his playing years which had they been at a then fashionable club would have seen him play for his country."
Neil Withington adds:
"'Pop'
Ogden and 'Ham' Neville were the Fylde half backs from 1924
onwards and are both regarded as two of Fylde's greatest. Ogden is regarded
as the best kicker in the Club's history. In 1927/28 he played for Lancashire
against the
Maoris.
In
1930 one newspaper described Ogden as the finest goalkicker in the world.
From 1927/28 to 1934/35 he was captain of Fylde and later became Chairman
of Fylde and President of Lancashire."
28/2/2002
We imagine that these words were not the ones used by Fylde's rugby management in the dressing room after a thoroughly slipshod second half display against Esher at the Woodlands on Saturday. In what has generally been a positive and heartening season, this was one of the isolated, unacceptable displays by the team which saw them go down to a deserved 13-27 defeat. After battling hard against a gale in the first half, taking the lead at one stage (though not playing particularly well) and only down 5-10 at the break, hopes must have been high of a first win against the visitors in four matches. In fact, the Fylde try by David Wiseman should have been disallowed for a knock-on but the referee (who had a very 'mixed' game) missed it. Wiseman soon retired with a rib injury and 'enjoyed' the rest of the match from the dugout.
What followed in the second half was a catalogue of poor tactics, misplaced kicking, handling errors and conceded penalties which beggered belief. Admitedly the conditions were difficult but they were the same for both sides. The much superior Esher side simply raised their game, ran at the Fylde defence and made merry. They mustn't have been able to believe their luck. The much feared Fylde pack found it hard to sustain any kind of pressure. The front five looked tired and slow and were a clear second best against motivated and more dynamic opponents. The home side's so successful tactic of driving mauls was barely used and they struggled to get an equal share of possession all afternoon.
In attack the Fylde backs looked OK although they spurned a number of good chances. Their midfield defence, however, was woeful, missing tackles and leaden footed. As soon as flyhalf Chris Finch realised Fylde's weaknesses he had a party, continually making sniping runs and finding gaps all over the place. Harvey Thorneycroft was strong and direct and kicking machine John Gregory showed that he could also score tries. Fylde contributed to their own demise in bucketfulls. A late try by winger Nick Kenyon (his first for the Club) gave some measure of respectability to the scoreline but Fylde were well beaten at the end. Click here for Steve Simpson's match report in the Evening Gazette, if you have the stomach!
It was difficult to pick out much individual success, although the wholehearted Lawrence Condon never gave up, even up against his constantly niggling opposite number Charlie Mulraine. With no league fixture next weekend, the players will have plenty of time to reflect on their performance. In the meantime, Esher have more or less secured their National Two status next season with these two points.
Fylde: Kenyon(R); Kenyon(N), Hassan, Davies, B.Godfrey; Wiseman (Wallwork), Condon; Filipo, McIntyre (Scott), Yates, Baldwin, Taylor, Bradwell (T.Godfrey), O'Grady, Wilson. Replacement not used: Ellis
Wanderers also go down but ...in a much more gritty performance by 20-12 against a strong Manchester side in a fixture switched to the Woodlands because of the state of their pitch. Manchester are in second place in the 2nd XV Championship Table, so this could be counted a good performance by Fylde. Fylde's tries were scored by Aodhan Carson and Gavin Mofatt. They have an even more difficult task on Saturday next when they visit Championship Table leaders Wharfedale.
Lytham's game at Burnage was postponed.
Elsewhere in National Two
At the top of the table, Plymouth recovered from their defeat against Orrell the previous week to hammer Preston by 66-12 whilst Orrell had to work much harder to tame a game challenge from Waterloo eventually winning by 27-16. Sedgley Park go on winning though not convincingly, this time at home to Nottingham by 25-16. The low scoring 6-6 draw between neighbours Wharfedale and Harrogate on a very heavy Grassington pitch could only be imagined!
Perhaps the best win of the day was by Rosslyn Park who beat Kendal by 26-3. Park are making a late but very determined effort to avoid what looked almost certain relegation a few weeks ago. By winning three matches in succession they have thrown down the gauntlet to Stourbridge, Nottingham and other mid-table sides. Stour look particularly vulnerable after losing their sixth out the last seven games when they went down 20-31 at Newbury. Damian Lavin made his home debut for the 'Blues', scored a try and could have had others. He started 16 matches for Fylde last season and didn't get on the scoresheet!
Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner summary of National Two Week 21 is available (as a Word file) by clicking here.
Fylde Minis tournament success
Last Sunday saw the Fylde mini-rugby Tournament at the Woodlands with over 30 teams from as far a field as Durham and Leeds competing at various age levels. Despite heavy wind and rain which turned the normally snooker table like pitches into gluepots, the rugby was highly entertaining.
Under 10s – Fylde entered two teams, Fylde and Fylde boys and both teams were unlucky not to make it through to the final. Fylde and Old Modernians (Leeds) could not be split at the semi final stage and it was left to most tries scored to decide the outcome, with Old Mods going through. Fylde Boys were similarly unlucky in the other half of the draw losing 10 – 0 in an excellent semi-final to Lymm. Old Mods triumphed in the final by one try to nil. Both Fylde teams should be proud of the skill and endeavour they showed in the tournament.
Under 11s – The under 11s went one step further than the 10s and reached the final after an epic encounter in their semi-final with local rivals Orrell. This was no mean feat given that they had never previously defeated the team from Wigan. After such a hard physical semi-final, the final was one game too far for Fylde who went down 3 tries to nil to Vale of Lune.
Under 12s – the under 12s were the one Fylde team who went all the way and won their age group. This powerful squad produced some awesome rugby in difficult playing conditions overcoming a spirited Preston Grasshoppers side by 3 tries to nil in the final.
Thanks must go to the Tournament Organiser Lorraine Bowden and all her helpers for an excellent festival of rugby in the most trying of conditions both on and off the field.
Ian Cosh
Fylde's face their bogey side
Fylde
welcome Esher to the Woodlands on Saturday (ko 14.30). The sides
have played only three previous fixtures - and all have been won by Esher.
Last season they won 20-14 at the Woodlands (in
appalling weather conditions) and by 29-10 on their own ground. This
season, Fylde went down by 3-26 in their fourth match after winning their
first three. So the Lancastrians have a point to prove as well as a desire
to get back in the top four of the division. In their position, there is
a real danger that the season will drift into an anti-climax. The Fylde
coaches will be working to motivate the squad for another tough game following
the excellent Orrell performance which blitzed them at Edge Hall Road.
A weekend's break will have gone down well with the players.
Esher RFC is based deep in the Surrey heartlands. The Club has been established for over 77 years and it has seen a rise in fortunes since those early days. National Two status is the highest league position the club has so far attained having won promotion two seasons ago from the now named National Division Three South. Their first season (2000/1) in National Two was satisfactory, finishing in mid-table (just above Fylde) but they are now pushing for further honours. The club is ambitious and, with the coaching and back up staff, they mean business.
At the start of the season it was their intention to be mounting a challenge for promotion come the end of February. This has not materialised. They don't travel too well, winning only three and losing six fixtures to date. They currently sit in 7th place in the league, two spots and six points below Fylde. Its a measure of the uncertainty created by the anomalous 'three teams to be relegated' system (the only league in the whole RFU edifice which has this feature) that at least one Esher supporter is raising the question on the their website message board (in the light of tough fixtures to come) that they may be in danger of going down! Given the credentials of the Club's coaches and players, this may be off the wall paranoia but it does say something about the lack of 'comfort zones' in this league and this rather barmy system. Mark Nelson made the same point at one stage last season when Fylde were in the wrong half of the table.
'The Parakeets' have an impressive coaching system, led by Hugh McHardy (Director of Rugby, and a former Scotland B International) and including Peter Winterbottom (ex Harlequins, England and British Lions flanker) and Jim Staples (ex Harlequins, London Irish and former captain of Ireland). Perhaps their most famous member is BBC sports presenter John Inverdale. Inverdale has been a long time playing member at the Club. Indeed, he also played for the Fylde Vandals a few years ago on a cold and gusty day, sharing the No 10 spot with Peter Tankard.
For background on the Esher club, click on their excellent web site. Compared with Fylde at the moment, they have more players and teams, and probably greater strength in depth. For instance, their 2nd team plays in the National Leagues 2nd XV Leagues, made up of the 2nd teams of National One and Two clubs. Fylde have struggled to field a regular and competitive Wanderers side in the past few years although recent performances give great hope for the future.
Fullback John Gregory leads National Two top scorers with 247 points (3 tries, 20 conversions, 63 penalties; 75% success rate) so Fylde are warned that indiscipline is likely to be punished severely. Their high quality signings this season included Harvey Thorneycroft from Northampton, Spencer Bromley from Worcester, flanker Gareth Allison and Kiwi centre Dan Wassell. Bromley has not featured for many weeks due to injury and the massively experienced Thorneycroft doesn't seem to travel to many away matches! But he is making the Woodlands an exception (see below)!
Established players include skipper and utility back Jan Bonney, Caleb Kronfeld, Kiwi brother of legendary All Black & Leicester's Josh, and highly experienced No 8 Chris Wilkins.
The Esher side selected for the game is somewhat stronger than last week's line-up at Harrogate. Both sides are likely to be playing only six or so players who started the match at Esher in September. With wind and rain forecast once again, it is likely to come down to the performance of the respective packs.
Gregory; T.Cook, Wassell,
Clouston, Thorneycroft; Finch, Mulraine; Cormack, Bennett, Smith, Hart,
Short, Owen, Dewhurst, Wilkins.
Reps; Barr Finnegan Mills
Seymour
Fylde's selection has been hampered by the injury to Steve Davidson, on loan from Sale Sharks. He will be out of action for several weeks after dislocating his shoulder against Orrell. He said: "It was my first game for Fylde. The injury happened in the last minute of the game and couldn't have come at a worst time for me."
Richard Kenyon's return at fullback in place of Davidson is the only change to Fylde's starting line-up at Orrell two weeks ago. Amongst the substitutes Steve Ellis replaces Nick Cassidy and Tom Godfrey comes in for Paddy O'Neill.
Fylde: Kenyon(R), Kenyon(N), Davies, Hassan, Godfrey(B); Wiseman, Condon; Filipo, McIntyre, Yates, Taylor, Baldwin, O'Grady, Bradwell, Wilson; replacements: Scott, Ellis, Godfrey(T), Wallwork.
Other National Two matches on Saturday are below. It doesn't get any easier for the bottom two, Preston and Waterloo.
Newbury
v Stourbridge
Plymouth
A v Preston
Grasshoppers
Rosslyn
P v Kendal
Sedgley
P v Nottingham
Waterloo
v Orrell
Wharfedale
v Harrogate
National Two rivals Kendal have announced the death of their respected coach Peter Kremer, 44, after a long battle against cancer. He coached the Club for four years, and was head of sport at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith. "Peter showed complete dedication to the club to the last. He watched us beat Stourbridge last weekend, and his commitment and energy for the club will always be cherished," said Kendal's director of rugby Chris Hayton.
"It was through his work and dedication that Kendal reached the National Leagues, and a lasting tribute to Peter is the number of schoolboys he coached that have come through to play rugby for Cumbrian clubs."
Fylde Rugby Club sends sincere commisserations to Peter's family and to Kendal RUFC.
Anorak's Corner
Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner Week 20 summary of National Two is available (as a Word file) by clicking here.
Its perhaps worth mentioning a couple of statistics that appear in Stephen's excellent summary. Although much is mentioned around National Two about the 'massive' Fylde pack and the forward oriented game that the Club plays, 20 of their 44 tries this season have been scored by the backline. However, a more startling figure is the analysis of how tries have been conceded. Of 37 tries against Fylde, only 6 of them have been by opposing forwards. This is by far the lowest proportion of any club in the division.
Lancashire Cup draw
Fylde have been drawn at home to South Lancashire & Cheshire One side Birchfield in the 2nd Round of the Lancashire Cup on Sunday, 24th March. Widnes, their near neighbours and rivals, also in the same league, withdrew from their 1st Round match at the Woodlands on Sunday last. The full draw is:
Fylde v Birchfield; West
Park v Oldham; Broughton Park v Waterloo or Manchester; Rochdale v Sedgley
Park
(20/2/2002)
This
weekend
Although Fylde didn't have a league game this weekend, they should have faced Widnes at the Woodlands in the Lancashire Cup on Sunday. However, the Lancashire club are challenging for promotion from South Lancs. & Cumbria Division One and were short of players so they pulled out of the competition. Fylde have a bye through to Round Two on Sunday 24th March.
In National Two, where apart from Fylde and Nottingham all clubs were playing, a crowd of 2,000 at Plymouth’s Beacon Park saw the home side lose their first home match for over two seasons when they went down by 14-20 to second placed Orrell after being behind by 3-15 at half-time. With this win the Lancastrians went a long way to repaying Dave Whelen’s financial backing and securing one of the two available promotion places at the end of the season.
This was a momentous struggle between the two outstanding clubs by far in the league this season. The Lancastrians were sufficiently motivated in their bid for the championship as to recall Wigan & Great Britain centre Gary Connolly to their squad. This was his last appearance in the union code for a while. As usual, it was the Orrell backs who were mainly responsible for the their tries, with Andy Craig and the ubiquitous Phil Jones scoring, along with replacement hooker Chris Pearson. But Orrell's coach Billy Lyon paid tribute to the forwards who provided a sound platform against the big Plymouth pack. Click here for the report on the match from the Daily Telegraph.
But promotion for Orrell (or Plymouth) isn't quite a ‘done deal’ as gritty Sedgley Park keep winning to stay close behind in third place. And Plymouth will have a chance for revenge when they visit Edge Hall Road in a few weeks time. On Saturday Park beat Newbury by 32-24 at home after leading 25-7 at the break. Plucky Newbury hit back in the second half and made a game of it.
At the bottom, Waterloo put up a plucky challenge at Wharfedale before going down 27-37. Preston Grasshoppers suffered yet another defeat, this time by 17-43 away to relegation contenders Rosslyn Park. Park are putting up a real effort to avoid the drop (although its still likely), whilst Waterloo and 'Hoppers look certain to go down to National League Three (North).
Fylde move down one place in the league as Harrogate went above them with a 34-23 win at home to Esher. The Surrey side will be in the road again on Saturday next when they visit the Woodlands.
NB We note that Damian Lavin, Fylde's erstwhile young winger (and disputed champion of KES Old Boys Pub Golf 2001 - see the Message Board posting of 27th December for a very funny account of this unique competition!) has now joined Newbury and made his debut in their defeat at Sedgley Park. Good luck Damian!
Lytham went down by 7-20 at home to Heaton Moor. They have won eight and lost seven matches so far this season. Click here for the Evening Gazette's report.
A NIGHT AT THE RACES
on Friday 8th March in
the Clubhouse
Under starters orders at
7.30pm
£1 admission - Bar
Extension - Food
for further details contact
Paddy
Dowling or Patrick Townsend
Other forthcoming attractions:
Lancashire Evening with
Roger Westbrook - Saturday 6th April
End of Season Bash
(Live Band & Disco) - Saturday 4th May
End of Season Lunch
- Sunday 5th May
Other events to be announced.
Please
try to support your club.
Tickets for all events will
be available from behind the bar.
Allan Townsend recognised by RFU!
One familiar figure missing from around The Woodlands last weekend was that of Lytham RUFC Chairman and Fylde Referee Liaison Officer, Allan Townsend, who was enjoying the hospitality of the RFU at the England against Ireland fixture.
This was in recognition of the contribution that Allan has made to grass roots rugby over many years and is an accolade that is thoroughly deserved. It is also good to see that, in these days when money is king, the powers that be have not lost sight of the fact that if it were not for the hours and hours of unpaid devotion that the Allan Townsends of this world give,we would not have such a great sport to enjoy. Well done, Allan.
Don't miss 'Townsend at Twickers' in the next Fylde programme and on the website!
Fylde minis - Match Reports 17/2/02
Fylde’s mini rugby teams made the short trip up the M6 to renew acquaintances with local rivals Vale of Lune. The games were all played in a healthy competitive spirit with plenty of open running rugby on display. The results from the various age groups are as follows:
Under 7s and under 8s – After two keenly contested matches at both age groups the spoils were shared, with the Under7s drawing 25 all and the under 8s sharing 4 tries apiece at 20 all.
Under 9s – On this occasion Vale were too strong for a courageous Fylde team who lost out 30 points to 10.
Under 10s – An excellent encounter ensued between 2 very strong teams. In the early stages honours were even, but in the second half a superb team effort by Fylde and with powerful running from Charles Hough and monster tackling from Sam Russell, saw Fylde win 35 – 10.
Under 11s – What this team lack in physique they more than make up or in determination. Fylde’s superb handling skills saw the in 42 – 21.
Under 12s – Since they first started playing each other at under 7s these 2 teams have always had close encounters and this match was no different. At the end of an excellent match Vale slightly edged victory by 4 converted tries to 3.
Next week (24th February) sees the under 10s, 11s and 12s renew rivalry at the Fylde mini rugby tournament when teams from the North of England compete for the honours.
[Contributed by Ian Cosh]
If you want to join the other 130 or so people already with tickets for the social event of the year in the Fylde in 2002 so far, Fylde RUFC's Annual Dinner (20th February, 7.00 for 7.30pm) contact Allan Townsend urgently on 01253 735605 or e-mail: awtownsend@lineone.net
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
(12/2/2002)
The worst fears of Fylde supporters were realised against Orrell at Edge Hall Road on Saturday. Their run of four successive wins came to an abrupt halt when they went down to a 6-46 defeat to the 2nd placed club, their biggest loss of the season to date. As the Evening Gazette report says the match showed the huge gap between the full-time professional and dedicated part-timer. "The difference in class was obvious but no-one could fault Fylde's commitment. They battled right up to the end and in Brent Wilson they had one of the best players on the field." Orrell's 29-3 half-time lead was too much for Fylde to battle against.
Orrell’s backs enjoyed themselves and scored all seven tries – three each for Wes Davies and Phil Jones, and one from Andy Craig. Jones converted four of the tries and kicked a penalty goal. Ben Godfrey kicked two penalties for the visitors. This was Fylde's third defeat by Orrell this season.
Fylde: Davidson, Kenyon, Hassan, G.Davies, Godfrey, Wiseman, Condon (Wallwork 51), Filipo, McIntyre (Scott 56), Yates, Taylor (O'Neill 71), Baldwin, O'Grady, Bradwell, Wilson.
Orrell: Davies, Wynn, Craig, Kelly, Kerfoot, Jones, Wood (Newton 63), Livesey (Giles 70), Pearson, Lea'aetoa, Bentley, Cusani, Bennett (Monighan70), Carr, Easter.
Fylde have a couple of weeks break in league action in which to lick their wounds and prepare for the visit of Esher to the Woodlands on February 23rd. Next Sunday's Lancashire Cup match against Widnes will be an opportunity to give players on the edge of the squad a game.
Despite the Orrell defeat, Fylde maintained fourth spot in the division as fifth placed Harrogate lost narrowly at home to Sedgley Park. Plymouth had a real fright at Kendal but maintained their position with a 7-0 win. At the bottom of the table, Rosslyn Park had an excellent 30-11 win at Nottingham, whilst Waterloo were beaten 18-14 at Stourbridge. Statistically, the Blundellsands side can still survive, but this is looking ever more unlikely. 'Hoppers match at Lightfoot Green against Newbury was postponed.
Stephen McCormack's In at the Corner summary of National Two is available (as a Word file) by clicking here.
The Wanderers salvaged some pride for the Club with an outstanding 22-5 win against Orrell at the Woodlands. Their first half performance was immense, totally dominating the game and they led by 16-0 at the break. The strong Orrell side came back in the second half but were unable to make many inroads against a brave defence. All the home side played out of their skins with Tom Godfrey amongst the forwards and Gavin Moffat of the backs deserving particular commendation.
The mixture of experienced players such as Jon Webster, Graeme Tasker & Mark Evans alongside promising youngsters such as Ben James, James Reid, Aodhan Carson and Ben Trend was particularly encouraging. The enthusiasm and clear intentions of coaches Brendan Hanovan and Stuart Connell communicated itself well to the players. Following a depressing run of ten defeats punctuated by a draw in their first eleven games, the Wanderers have now won their last four matches and sit in 10th position in the Northern 2nd XV Championship table. Click here for a match report.
Lytham also won, by 31-5, at home to North Lancs One bottom club, Calder Vale. This substantiates their mid-table position.
Good performances from the Mini-Juniors
Fylde minis entertained teams from Kirkby Lonsdale and Otley last Sunday, 10th February. The games were played in heavy, windswept conditions, but despite this the teams produced open entertaining rugby. The scores for the various age groups are as follows:
Under 7s and 8s – the youngest age groups produced 2 evenly matched games with Fylde winning the first match 30 – 15, with the spoils shared 15-15 in the second.
The under 9s are now finding their feet in their first season of full contact rugby, winning both their matches by 20- 10 and 45 – 27.
The under 10s continued their successful season with a powerful display racking up 12 tries in their 60 -10 victory.
The under 12s played in a round robin against Otley and Kirkby and despite a number of call-offs managed to hold a powerful Otley squad to 7-7 in a very hard fought match. They proved too strong in defeating Kirkby 35 – 7.
This weekend sees Fylde renew acquaintances with their local rivals Vale of Lune in what promises to be a hard fought local derby. [Contributed by Ian Cosh].
Whilst Fylde will be very keen to compete fiercely against Orrell, for the first time in four seasons in February the Club does not have a relegation fight on its hands. It has already secured its place in National Two for next season and can build towards a serious challenge for honours then.
Whilst the 'even playing field' of National Two is clearly upset by the massive infusion of money by clubs such as Orrell, it is difficult to predict the likelihood of such events. However, we do know already that National Three (South) leaders Penzance & Newlyn have a considerable resource base and are preparing themselves for a quick journey through to National One. One of our correspondents believes that they currently have a squad of 18 full-time professional players! If this is true, they must be serious contenders 'to do a Plymouth' and go up to National One in one season.
Its interesting to note the rise of rugby in that part of the world. Plymouth leads but Penzance and Launceston (2nd place in National Three South behind Penzance) are following fast. We've already referred on this site to the much higher crowd figures at Plymouth's matches compared to Northern teams. Cornwall has little top sport and rugby has always been a true passion. But the finances of clubs at this level need more than gates or between one and two thousand to support substantially fulltime squads. So where is the money coming from?
The shape of National Two looks likely to change next season. Obviously, at this time of the year its dangerous to speculate, but it may well be along these lines:
South
East: Esher, Newbury, Henley, Bracknell
South
West: Penzance
Midlands:
Nottingham,
Stourbridge
North:
Sedgley
Park, Fylde, Harrogate, Kendal, Wharfedale,
Doncaster
Play-off: Launceston (South West) or Dudley Kingswinford (Midlands)/Liverpool St. Helens (North)
Northern representation is likely to be reduced and, with Henley and Bracknell bankers to return to National Two, South Eastern clubs will increase. Penzance is a long way from anywhere - in fact, over 400 miles from Kendal. Its going to be a hard regime for them, and Launceston, if they come through the play-offs.
(8/2/2002)