Hull Ionians 45 v Fylde 36: report by Simon Taylor
For the second time this season Fylde made the long trip along the Highway to Hull and returned with little to show for their efforts. In a high-scoring affair they scored some wonderful tries but made too many errors and were overly porous in defence as they conceded the most points in a single game all season. A try bonus point was their only reward as they gave up a sixth try in the last move of the game to deny themselves a second losing bonus point. Whilst Ionians deserved their win and played well it was the knowledge that this was an eminently winnable game and that Fylde had contributed in large measure to their own downfall that made the defeat disappointing.
Fylde received the kick off on a beautiful sunny day at the very attractive surroundings of Brantingham Park in front of a large crowd, a slight breeze in their favour. Fylde controlled the ball for the first few minutes stretching the home defence looking for the gap. However, when patience was needed, a moment of indecision led to a forced pass being picked off by the Ionians scrum half Sam Pocklington and he raced fully 80 yards for the interception try. Full back Lewis Minikin was to have a fine day all round including converting all six tries, and Fylde were behind 7-0 early on. Back came Fylde with a penalty by Greg Smith on 7 minutes to make it 7-3 before sneaking ahead for the only time on the day on 16 minutes. From a scrum on their own 10-yard line a set move in the backs saw Henry Hadfield off his wing as he sliced through the defence, drew the last defender and put Tom Forster in for a fine try, Smith converting for a 10-7 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as Minikin kicked a penalty on 21 minutes to tie the scores before a further Fylde error on 24 minutes handed Ionians the lead back. Ionians used the box kick well all day and from one they pressured Hadfield into a high-risk offload which went astray, allowing winger Nathan Hill in for a try, converted for a 17-10 lead to the home side. It was a lead that didn’t last long, however, as Matt Sturgess recycled a kick out of defence and spun the ball to Tom Carleton. Two steps off his right foot and Carleton was in under the posts, Smith converting to tie the scores again at 17 apiece. Fylde then put themselves under pressure again conceding a kick straight from the restart. A kick to touch and catch and drive was hauled down, resulting in a yellow card for Fylde’s Oli Parkinson. Another line out and drive was then released into the Ionians backs, a Fylde defender jumped out of the defensive line leaving a sizeable gap which Lewis Minikin exploited to touch down, converting his own try to put Ionians back in front at 24-17.
The “you score, we score” pattern continued as Fylde made a break in the centres and Hadfield was on hand to take the final pass and touch down. Smith’s conversion slid wide meaning Ionians took a narrow 24-22 lead into the break.
Fylde started the second half slowly, two unforced knock-ons giving Ionians easy territory and possession. Fylde were struggling to create any sustained rhythm, a lack of patience in possession meaning they were not pressuring Ionians into any errors or penalties, whilst their own errors were putting them under too much pressure. The home team’s driving forward play was well co-ordinated and showed the patience and intent Fylde were lacking in and on 49 minutes their impressive flanker Kobby Opoku-Fofie forced his way over from close in, Minikin converting to make it 31-22. Yet again Fylde responded, as they finally created some phased and patient play, with Oli Parkinson crashing over in the right corner, Smith adding a wonderful conversion from wide out to bring Fylde back to 31-29.
Fylde made changes in the front row, bringing Zack Barrow and Corey Bowker on for Sam Kyle-Clay and Matt Ashcroft as they sought to exert some control and get ahead on the scoreboard again. Their task was made harder as they gave another penalty away for handling in the ruck on 56 minutes and were once again reduced to 14 men with Charlie Partington ordered off for a 10-minute rest. It seemed as if Fylde were intent on shooting themselves in both feet rather than just the one, as they were creating their own obstacles and intent on assisting Ionians towards the precious league points. From the penalty kick into the corner, the inevitable catch and drive set up a wave of pick and go attempts, the fourth one reaping the rewards with a try for the Ionians flanker James Sanderson, converted by Minikin again and the lead was back out to two scores at 38-29.
Despite the numerical disadvantage Fylde knuckled down and forced a spell of pressure and penalties near the Ionians line. This time, they were patient in their approach, and the gap finally appeared for Tom Grimes as the home defence was stretched too thin. Smith converted and with Partington soon back on the pitch Fylde were back to within 2 points at 38-36 down. They now had 15 minutes left to try to get their noses in front and keep their own line intact.
Unfortunately for Fylde, the lack of fluency and control that had plagued them all day continued to do so and frustrate them and their travelling support. Knock-ons and loose carries just when they were building something released the pressure on the home team, and a glorious 50-yard break by Hadfield which took them up to the Ionians 22 was all for nought as a perhaps injudicious offload on the floor led to a turnover and the ball was booted back to the Fylde 22. Another error gave Ionians a chance to move the ball wide and Fylde conceded a penalty close to their line when the Ionians winger was taken out with a high tackle, in truth Fylde were fortunate not to incur a third yellow card. Ionians sensibly kept the ball tight with their pick and go working well once more and as the clock ran into the red they rubbed salt into the Fylde wounds when their big second row Alex Campbell was driven over for their sixth try. Minikin converted, the final whistle went and at 45-36 this, as previously stated, denied Fylde the second bonus point.
Ionians fully deserved their win and were delighted to have beaten a team above them in the table for the first time this season. Fylde, as has sometimes been the case this season, had some wonderful moments scoring some fine tries. Often this has been enough to see them come out on the right side of the ledger, especially when the defence is solid enough to cope with the opposition in between the moments of magic. However, that approach cannot always be relied on, certainly against the better teams, and it proved so in this case. Perhaps a week off and three high scoring games prior to that meant that the toughness in defence had dropped off, and an Ionians team ably coached by ex-GB Rugby League star Graham Steadman were able to exploit the error count and defensive frailties enough to make all the difference. One thing is certain, if you concede 45 points you will have to create a lot of magic moments to outscore the opposition, and that task was beyond Fylde on this occasion. They remain a joy to watch but this was one of those occasionally frustrating days you must accept as a supporter of a team that plays this brand of rugby. Coach Alex Loney was disappointed with the outcome, reflecting that in building a culture of empowering the players to know when to offload and when to be patient the lessons learnt can sometimes be painful ones.
Dave Fairbrother was, as he often is, the most meaningful and effective ball carrying forward and Tom Carleton was name Fylde’s man of the match by the opposition. Fylde slip to fifth with this result but are 16 points ahead of Ionians in sixth and can still climb the table and affect the outcome of the league as they have leaders Hull to play at home and fourth place Stourbridge to play away. Next up is Luctonians at home next week, when they will be keen to tighten up their defence and continue to impress in attack against a team they lost narrowly to away earlier in the season.
Teams:
Fylde: Carleton, Hadfield, Forster, Rawlings (Clayton 68), Grimes, Smith, Sturgess, Kyle-Clay (Barrow 53), Gregory (c), Ashcroft (Bowker 48), Parkinson, Garrod, O’Ryan, Partington, Fairbrother
Unused Replacements: Lanigan, Parker
Hull Ionians: Minikin, Wilson, Munnelly (Kirk), Bullough, Hill, Smith, Pocklington, Morton (Thundercliffe/Laverick), Stephenson, Laverick, Campbell, Holgate (Hudson), Opoku-Fofie, Sanderson (Malcolmson), Mewburn
