Fylde welcome Sheffield Tigers – their players, officials and supporters – to the Woodlands today.
This will be only the fifth meeting of the two clubs, with the first three matches won by the Tigers. Their ground is on Dore Moor, on the south west edge of the city, a staggeringly beautiful setting which can be, to say the least, a little cold in mid-winter!. It is high on the moors and in bad weather a very difficult place to play.
The first ever game between the clubs was at the Woodlands on a relatively balmy September day in 2018. Fylde scored four tries against the Tigers one. Yet indiscipline by the home team led to a masterful kicking display by Tigers fly-half Mark Ireland in which he nailed no fewer than six penalties including a last minute effort that determined the outcome of the game at 24-25. Here’s a stark warning for Fylde – offend in their own half and Ireland, if in the squad, will more likely than not punish them.
On the Lancastrians’ first two mid-winter visits to Dore Moor in January 2019 (a 17-12 defeat for the visitors) when a thin layer of snow covered the pitch, and in December 2019 (16-10) when persistent rain made handling tricky, Fylde struggled to impose themselves against aggressive and determined opponents. The third visit in October this season was totally different, in sunny, calm conditions, where Fylde went through their full attacking, running game. They scored seven tries in a comprehensive 12-43 victory, with Tom Carleton grabbing four.
The Tigers were for many years in the shadow of Sheffield RUFC who are based at Abbeydale Park in the south of the city. The Tigers now hold the bragging rights, competing at level four with their rivals at level 5.
The Tigers have yo-yo’d between National Two and the Midlands or North Premier divisions. In the last 13 seasons, they have had six campaigns at level 4 and seven at level 5. They finished in 10th place in National Two (North) last season and 13th the previous year. Like Fylde, the Tigers run four senior teams and a healthy Mini-Junior Section.
The Tigers have had a mixed season, currently lying in 10th place in N2N, with ten victories and eleven defeats. They’ve achieved three notable double wins against Wharfedale, Loughborough Students and Bournville. If narrow defeats at Stourbridge (31-27), Tynedale (24-18), Huddersfield (31-27) and home to Hull Ionians (13-16) had gone the other way then their league position would have been much higher.
The Tigers’s Head Coach is also one of their star players. Jamie Broadley is a highly experienced, hard running and try scoring centre, formerly with Rotherham Titans and Harrogate who has been a major figure at the Club for a decade. His productivity in the last few seasons for the Tigers has been outstanding, and he has usually been in the top ten try scorers in N2N.
He leads a dangerous three quarter line including fullback/wing Greg Mellor, centre Sam Wager (who partners Broadley) and leading try scorer Rob Davidson.
The playmaker is the previously mentioned fly-half Mark Ireland, (formerly at Otley & Kendal) who is the principal goal kicker and has been the team’s top scorer in his three seasons with the Tigers. He’s had a few half-back partners this season including Otis Floyd, Ryan Holmes and Sam Down.
The Tigers have a competitive pack, including solid prop duo Nick Bingham and Will Bennett, locks Joe Fitzsimons and Ashley Holland, backrowers Angus Hughes, Louis Townsend (flanker or hooker), Connor Scott and Tom Calladine.
Fylde’s line-up is:
15 Carleton; 14 Hadfield, 13 Forster, 12 Rawlings, 11 Grimes: 10 Smith, 9 Sturgess; 1 Kyle-Clay, 2 Gregory, 3 Ashcroft, 4 Parkinson, 5 Garrod, 6 Corrie, 7 Partington, 8 Fairbrother.
16 Higgins, 17 Bowker, 18 Blake, 19 O’Ryan, 20 Lanigan.
