Rotherham 16 Fylde 41: report by Simon Taylor
[Photos courtesy of Dr Gareth Lyons]
Fylde maintained their perfect record and hold on top spot in Division 2 North with an excellent bonus point win against a club that is likely to be one of their closest rivals come the final knockings. An away win at Rotherham Titans is no mean feat given Fylde have never won there before and The Titans had not been beaten on their own manor for over a year. The manner of the win and the margin of it was the most pleasing aspect. Fylde outscored the hosts by 5 tries to 1, this sixth bonus point win on the trot being their best start to a season since bonus points were introduced in 2000. A solid first half into the wind gave them a narrow 17-13 lead at half time, they weathered early pressure in the second half and dominated the last 20 minutes with a clinical masterclass. Rotherham were somewhat shell-shocked but generous in the post-match discussion, admitting they were outplayed on the day.
Rotherham’s forward power and direct style of play meant the opposition and circumstances dictated team selection for joint head coaches Chris Briers and Alex Loney. Loney and Dave Fairbrother only flew back into the UK on the morning of the game, so Fairbrother was on the subs bench for the first time in a very long while. Pete Altham started from the off with captain Ben Gregory and Corey Bowker in the front row and Harlan Corrie partnered Olli Parkinson in the second row. With the veteran leader of the pack Fairbrother not starting it was a back row full of hungry young wolf cubs with Tristan Woodman at number 8 in between Henry Higginson and Toby Harrison. Greg Smith and Matt Sturgess were in their customary half-back berths, the muscular option of Scott Rawlings was opted for at inside centre with Conor Wilkinson outside him. Adam Lanigan, Tom Grimes, and Jordan Dorrington were the back three strike weapons. Joining Fairbrother on a bench that looks stronger every week were Adam Lewis, Matt Ashcroft, Matt Garrod and Sam Stott.
On a dry and sunny day Fylde kicked off into a strongish breeze and took only 6 minutes to get the scoreboard ticking. Clean line out ball from Corrie was spun down the backs with dummy runners creating a sliver of an overlap. Lanigan took the ball at pace, skinned his man and dived in at the right corner for a well worked team try. Greg Smith was named Fylde’s player of the match by Rotherham, and he slotted a beautiful conversion from wide out to start what was to be a 100% success rate from the tee. Fylde may have only converted one of 8 tries last time out against Blaydon but it is important to knock your kicks over when it matters most, and Smith certainly did that on Saturday.
Rotherham kicked straight to touch from the re-start, a theme that was to haunt them all day as their kicking in general let them down time and again, meaning they failed to build concerted territorial pressure. On this occasion it did not matter as the first scrum of the day resulted in a penalty to the hosts. Rotherham then had a spell of pressure and Corben Ollivent kicked a penalty on 12 minutes to open their account and make it 3-7. Corrie took the re-start superbly to give Fylde possession back only for a huge hit in midfield to force a knock on. Jordan Dorrington returned a deep kick with interest and on 21 minutes Fylde forced a line out on the Rotherham 22. The ball was again moved along the backs and with the home defence up flat Connor Wilkinson slid though a perfect grubber, re-gathered it himself and touched down for Fylde’s second try. Another touchline conversion by Smith followed and Fylde were 14-3 ahead.
Rotherham gathered themselves and the power of their pack told again on 25 minutes. They made a mess of Fylde’s scrum on halfway and swooped on the loose ball, scrum half Sam Boxhall in for a try converted by Ollivent to make it 14-10. Back came Fylde, a lovely midfield break by Rawlings looked like it had opened up the home defence only for it to be called back for a forward pass in the offload. Rotherham forced another penalty on 33 minutes which Ollivent kicked and now there was just a point in it at 14-13 to Fylde. Rawlings made way for Sam Stott and an inaccurate Fylde presentation in the carry caused a knock-on giving Rotherham the scrum. The Fylde front row had now got to grips with their opponents in the dark acts and the scrum penalties dried up for Rotherham.
They chose to kick and once again kicked straight to touch. Fylde took the line out, forced a penalty, Rotherham were marched back 10 for giving the ref advice he didn’t want or need, and Smith kicked the penalty to close the half out at 17-13 to Fylde.
At the break Corrie, Harrison and Altham were replaced by Garrod, Fairbrother and Ashcroft, and with the wind now in their favour things were looking good for Fylde, if they used the conditions to their advantage more effectively than Rotherham had managed to. Things didn’t start well as early errors in the exit strategy gave Rotherham penalties and the chance to camp out in the Fylde 22. Solid defence in the face of repeated waves of robust carries led to the ball being held up over the line then in Rotherham’s next assault Matt Ashcroft won an excellent turnover penalty allowing Fylde to move down field.
On 50 minutes from a penalty kick to touch Garrod soared for a fine line out take only to be hit while he was still in the air. Smith nudged the next penalty for a 5-yard line out and this time there was no stopping the catch and drive, inevitably skipper Ben Gregory was last man up. Smith converted again from the touchline and Fylde had increased their lead to 24-13. Poor re-start accuracy invited pressure back on Fylde and despite two lovely lineout steals from Parkinson relieving pressure momentarily some poor exit options eventually allowed Ollivent to kick another penalty on 56 minutes to make it 24-16 to Fylde.
Whilst Fylde were playing some great stuff, they were still interrupting their own flow with some avoidable errors. They now knuckled down to eradicate this and produced their best 20 minutes of rugby of the season. Smith showed that he can put the boot in when required, always useful when a team defends too flat. On 62 minutes a lovely grubber kick from Smith at just the right time saw Sam Stott charge through and dot down, Smith converted, and it was 31-16.
Fylde now monopolised possession and used the elements to pin Rotherham back, Smith’s perfect 50/22 kick giving Fylde the lineout throw. Patient and accurate phases put the pressure on Rotherham and stretched the defence. Half breaks by Stott and Garrod ramped the pressure up and finally the returning Scott Rawlings bounced off 2 tackles and offloaded to the supporting Dorrington who sliced through on a lovely line to score Fylde’s fifth try near the posts. Smith’s conversion made it 38-16.
Fylde maintained their accuracy levels and did not give Rotherham a sniff. Centre Harry Dunne was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on and Smith kicked the resulting penalty on 77 minutes to make it 41-16, Fylde seeing the remaining time out to record their best away victory for several seasons, an excellent performance from all 20 of the squad, delighting the travelling support, coaches and management team.
Coach Alex Loney was delighted with Fylde’s performance, commenting: “Rotherham away is a massive test. The challenge was to deal with their forward threats, a narrow pitch, the slope, and the wind. There were a lot of factors that could have gone against us but fair play to the boys, they turned up well. We managed to get in with a half time lead, showed calmness and maturity to weather early second half pressure, got into the arm wrestle, took control, and scored some wonderful tries. When we play against top teams we need to manage momentum, keep it when we’ve got it, and when it’s against us defend well and limit the damage. We enjoy the win then from Monday it is eyes forward for the next two games.”
Those two games are both at home, firstly against Wharfedale next Saturday then Tynedale a week later. Fylde will also be hoping a no doubt wounded Rotherham will bounce back and do them a favour by beating second placed Sedgley Park next week.
Click here for Gareth Lyons’ photos.
Teams
Fylde: Dorrington; Lanigan (Rawlings 74), Wilkinson, Rawlings (Stott 34), Grimes; Smith, Sturgess; Bowker (Lewis 57), Gregory (c), Altham (Ashcroft 40), Parkinson, Corrie (Garrod 40), Harrison (Fairbrother 40), Higginson, Woodman.
Rotherham: Veall, Hedley, Sableman-Blue, Dunne, Taylor, Ollivent, Boxhall (Ramrattan 54), Capps (Donkor 31, (Rylance 52), Bergmanas (Inman 69), Denman (Donkor 63), Poole (captain), Challinor, Payne (Nwoshu-Hope 49), Kay, Bustin
Match report in The Rugby Paper, 16th October 2022