Fylde welcome old friends and Lancashire rivals Sedgley Park to the Woodlands on Saturday (ko 15.00) for a meeting of the 3rd and 4th placed teams in National Two (North). They have had another fine season to date, winning 14 of their 18 fixtures so far, drawing 1 and losing 3. The two clubs rank 2nd and 3rd for the number of tries scored amongst the 47 clubs in the three National League divisions, with Fylde running up 98 and Sedgley 96.
Sedgley began the season with a superb run of nine victories and a draw (a 24-all score home to Rotherham Titans). Their only reverses have been at Stourbridge (32-31) and Rotherham Titans (13-12) and at home to Hull (17-22). All other opponents have been despatched with excellent, often high scoring displays.
The season is panning out in a very similar fashion to the 2019-20 campaign, with Fylde & Sedge pretty much in the top four all season and vying with a few other clubs for the promotion honours.
In recent seasons the two clubs have been Lancashire’s highest ranked in the RFU league system. They have a close relationship built on mutual respect and in their joint commitment to Lancashire county rugby. A number of players in the current squads have played for both clubs. Sedgley’s Steve Collins and Mark Goodman have made many appearances for Fylde added to this season by former Fylde scrum-half Cameron Crampton. Fylde’s Chris Briers, Greg Smith and Olli Parkinson have spent seasons at Park Lane. Many of the other players know each other very well from Lancashire U’20s and senior squad duties.
Rather surprisingly, there have only been twelve previous league games between the clubs. These fixtures began in 2001 and the first four games up to 2003 were all won by Sedgley. The clubs then went their different ways, with Sedgley eventually elevated to the Championship (level 2) between 2004 – 2009 as Fylde slipped to level 4. Sedgley’s relegation to National One, and Fylde’s promotion to that division in 2011, brought the clubs together again in the period 2011 – 2013. The four games in this sequence were all won by Fylde but Sedgley’s relegation in April 2013 separated the clubs once more.
Fylde’s return to National Two (North) for the 2018-19 campaign brought them back together. Wins by each club that season, both away from home, was followed by Fylde’s tense 17-10 home victory in Dec 2019 before the abandonment of the league wiped out the Park Lane encounter. Fylde’s defeat at Park Lane in October means that the bragging rights are shared at 6 victories each.
The rise of the Tigers from the Northern regional leagues to the heights of the Championship where they survived for five heady seasons was a kind of fairy tale. Quality recruitment and coaching plus astute management off the field was the basis of this success. They achieved this without over stretching their financial resources, no mean achievement for a club which struggled to attract big crowds in football dominated Manchester.
The Tigers have been pushing for promotion from National Two (North) in the last seven seasons, twice finishing runners up yet losing the respective play-off games.
Their Head Coach is Steve Hazzleby who assists former Fylde favourite, Scott Barrow. They are joined in the coaching group by another former Fylde player, Jonny Rodham.
The Sedgley squad is characterised by loyalty and a deep commitment to the Club. This is summed up by the extraordinary service provided by, for instance, the so called ‘Sedgley Truck’, Matt Riley. The powerful centre has made getting on for 400 1st XV appearances for the club since 2005. From 2012 he has been accompanied in the Sedgley backline by full back or winger, brother Andrew, who himself has run up more than 220 appearances.
The current playmaker and principal goal kicker is former Fylde favourite, the mercurial and evergreen fly-half Steve Collins who has also made more than 200 appearances for the Club. Local Fylde resident, Lytham High School maths teacher and former flanker/no 8 at the Woodlands, Mark Goodman, has become a very influential member of the Sedg pack.
The Tigers pack is traditionally powerful, with notable contributors such as props John Blanchard and Ben Black, the outstanding lock Bob Birtwell who often partners Connor James in the 2nd row, and flanker Will Lees. No 8 Tom Ailes, who moved to Park Lane in 2019 from Sale FC, is another leading player although he’s missed recent weeks through injury.
The dangerous backline includes speedy wingers Sam Lowthion and Jamie Harrison and major young talent, centre Ollie Glasse, who shares the goal kicking responsibilities with fly-half ‘Piggy’ Collins.
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The Fylde squad is:
15 Ben Turner; 14 Henry Hadfield, 13 Tom Carleton, 12 Joe Bedlow, 11 Tom Grimes; 10 Matt Sturgess, 9 Adam Lanigan; 1 Zach Barrow, 2 Ben Gregory (c), 3 Corey Bowker, 4 Olli Parkinson, 5 Matt Garrod, 6 Harlan Corrie, 7 Ben O’Ryan, 8 Dave Fairbrother.
16 Sam Kyle-Clay, 17 Matt Ashcroft, 18 Charlie Partington, 19 Tom Forster, 20 Alex Clayton.
