Next off the ‘re-signings rank’ are three local players. We’re delighted to know that we’ll be seeing them in the claret, gold & white when the new season begins in just ten weeks time!
TOM GRIMES
Versatile back Tom Grimes has signed for a fifth season at the Woodlands. The 29-year-old, who previously made 70 National One appearances for Blaydon when a student in the North East, joined Fylde for the 2017-18 campaign. He had a sabbatical with New Zealand club Upper Hutt Rams in the second half of that season. He returned for the 2018-19 season and has been pretty much ever present in the last three years.
Playing mainly on the wing for Fylde, but also comfortable at fullback, Tom has scored 52 tries in 95 appearances. He had a superb 2021-22 season, scoring 24 tries in 26 appearances and finishing 5th in the National Two (North) try scoring ranking. He has also made some excellent contributions to the senior Lancashire senior squad.
He has pace, strength, durability, a very sound defence and an opportunistic ability to find the try line. His consistency and reliability has been outstanding as part of a very talented Fylde three quarter line.
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ZACH BARROW
Zach learnt his rugby at Lancaster Royal Grammar School where he was imbued with the culture and values of rugby for the first time. He flourished there and had the honour of captaining the 1st team for a successful South Africa Tour in his final year.
He went to the University of Bath but a shoulder injury prevented him from playing rugby and he took up karate. Extremely good coaches at the University taught him the values of martial arts as well as the technical aspects. He took to the sport and competed in BUCS tournaments winning three medals, and skippering the Mens team when Bath won the overall competition. The values of discipline, respect and dedication were drilled into him, and matched extremely well with rugby values.
Returning to Lancashire, Zach joined Fylde in 2019-20 and played in the Hawks squad at loosehead prop. He impressed the coaches sufficiently for them to inlcude him in the 1st XV squad for the 2021-22 campaign and he justified their faith in him with a solid set of seventeen National League appearances in which he showed his natural strength and technical competence.
He joined a group of five young props, including Corey Bowker, Matt Ashcroft, Sam Kyle-Clay and Joe Higgins.
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ADAM LANIGAN
Like his old AKS school friend, Tom Forster, Adam progressed through the Club’s MJ Section, Colts and AKS age group teams before eventually joining Leeds Beckett University to study Sports & Exercise Science. On his return to the Fylde Coast, he played for the Hawks squad
Adam had an unheralded introduction to National League rugby when new no 9 Cameron Crampton was injured very early in the 2018-19 season and Adam stepped up from the Hawks to fill the breach. He made his 1st XV debut at Leicester Lions on 22nd September 2018 and retained his position until Crampton returned to fitness in December. He looked comfortable at National League level and showed a good mixture of game intelligence, adroitness, physicality and support running.
Adam was in the 1st XV squad for the Centenary season and it was a case of déjà vu as Cameron suffered a bad knee injury in the preseason game at the Woodlands against Sandbach. Once again Adam was thrust into National League action, this time in the first game of the season at Scunthorpe. He retained the no 9 shirt for the whole season, scoring two tries in the process, and was an ever present in the Club’s 25 games before the Covid-driven abandonment of the season in March.
Last season he shared the no 9 shirt with new recruit Matt Sturgess and showed his versatility by covering impressively as a winger when required. He’s made 53 1st XV appearances in all.