Harrogate 0 v Fylde 52: report by Simon Taylor
Fylde kicked off 2023 with a fine eight try away win at Harrogate. Just as pleasingly, they kept their try line intact and the hosts pointless, despite fierce pressure in the last 10 minutes. Having beaten the same team 74-5 at home earlier in the season for an aggregate score of 126-5, ‘Gate will no doubt be glad to see the back of Fylde for this season. Fylde’s 12th win from 13 starts sees them stay hot on the heels of leaders Sedgley Park, just two league points separating them, Fylde boasting a +339 points scored/against record, compared to Sedgley’s +245.
With neither team having played for 5 weeks due to weather postponements and the festive break, there was understandably some rust to be seen in the early exchanges, with some knock-onitis on display. Although the afternoon itself was dry & still, heavy rain over the last few weeks meant the playing surface was heavy, the pitch in places taking not just a stud, but the boot and sometimes the ankle as well.
Harrogate boasted a heavier pack, particularly in the front row, and with Pete Altham unavailable Fylde had just three on duty props. Corey Bowker, Matt Ashcroft, and Zach Barrow knew they would have to put a shift in supporting skipper Ben Gregory to get scrum parity, Sam Parker provided hooker cover. The beanpole department of Olli Parkinson and Matt Garrod were tasked with providing clean line out ball and the veteran force of nature Dave Fairbrother was free to rampage at number eight with his young protegees Tristan Woodman and Toby Harrison either side. New signing Cole Potts made his debut start at scrum half with Greg Smith at stand-off. Sam Stott and Connor Wilkinson were the formidable centre pairing, Adam Lanigan and Tom Grimes providing pace and precision on the wings with Jordan Dorrington adding more of the same and a last line of defence at full back. Henry Higginson, Scott Rawlings, and Ben Turner completed the bench, a 3/2 forwards/backs split for once rather than the usual 4/1.
Fylde got into their rhythm quickly, although early attacks were frustrated by giving penalties away, two of which were walked back another 10 yards for backchat. Once they had settled down the first score came from a Harrogate kick deep into Fylde’s half. Sam Stott tidied up loose ball on 10 minutes and set off on a 60-yard run, bouncing off attempted tackles as he surged into the Harrogate 22. He picked his moment to put the supporting Jordan Dorrington in for the try, goaled by Greg Smith for a 7-0 lead. Harrogate then earned a further series of penalties, employing a series of drives and the box kick to pin Fylde back. Fylde soaked this up and on 22 minutes struck again. Dave Fairbrother fielded the box kick, bumped off the first tackle and the ball was spun wide to Adam Lanigan, who scorched his man and found Cole Potts in support on the inside, the debutant marking his first start with a fine try, converted by Smith for 14-0.
Fylde now settled into a solid pattern, absorbing pressure when Harrogate had the ball then fashioning a decisive and incisive piece of play when the opportunity was there. A strong bust by Tristan Woodman in midfield saw a third try for a supporting runner, this time Sam Stott taking the inside ball and giving Smith another easy conversion. 21-0 was improved upon again right on half time with another excellently worked try. Scott Rawlings had replaced Sam Stott and he held up the Harrogate player and ripped the ball in the tackle on halfway. A quick transfer to Fairbrother was shipped on to Zach Barrow who showed an eye for the gap and then an impressive turn of pace for a member of the front row union. Barrow trundled on into the Harrogate 22, slowed when he realised the cover was about to snaffle him, and fed Greg Smith who put Adam Lanigan in under the posts. Smith converted again and, with a try every 10 minutes, all of them scored due to excellent support play and well-timed final passes, Fylde took a 28-0 lead into the sheds at the break, the try bonus point already in the bag.
The second half continued in the same vein. Harrogate were plucky customers but perhaps lacked a real cutting edge. Fylde continued to defend when needed, cut down the penalty count and picked their moment when to go wide and stretch the home defence beyond the tolerance level. On 47 minutes the ball was spun wide to Dorrington, he put the ball on the toe and Adam Lanigan got ahead of his man, toed the ball on again and won the race to the touch down. Smith’s fifth consecutive conversion made it 35-0 and, if the game was not done and dusted at half time, it was now.
Fylde were in no mood to take their foot off the pedal, and this was a game where they were able to keep their focus for a full 80 and avoid having any real sloppy or aimless periods, no mean feat after a lengthy mid-season break. On 56 minutes a penalty kick to the corner and line out take by Olli Parkinson led to the driving maul, inevitably it was burglar Bill skipper Ben Gregory over to add to his impressive try count. Smith missed for the first time with the conversion attempt, but it was now a very healthy lead at 40-0.
Fylde’s scoring intervals now shortened with two further tries in quick succession as Harrogate tired. On the hour mark Matt Garrod found himself in nosebleed territory on the wing with acres of real estate in front of him. He galloped on then set up quick ruck ball, which was popped to Ben Gregory, who sold the dummy and ghosted through the gap, feeding Henry Higginson, who had replaced Tristan Woodman just minutes earlier. Higginson produced a delightfully quick transfer to Dave Fairbrother who crashed over for the try. Smith’s radar was back on, and it was 47-0.
The Fylde brains trust of Alex Loney and Chris Briers decided it was time to empty the bench and use the full allowance of interchanges. They gave the skipper a rare rest and rewarded Sam Parker for his patience in sitting on the pine with a good 20 minutes of game time. Ben Turner replaced Lanigan, Stott came back on to give Wilkinson a rest and Bowker came back on for Ashcroft. There was time for one more try on 64 minutes and it was a belter. From just inside their own half a set move saw Tom Grimes in from the blind side wing and picking the gap the dummy runners and sleight of hand had created. Grimes fed Sam Stott who drew the last man and gave Ben Turner a run in to the corner score. Smith’s conversion narrowly missed but the half century was up and the lead 52-0.
Every credit to Harrogate who gathered their collective will to carry on competing to the end. They forced a sustained last 10 minutes of pressure and several times looked like they were about to batter over for a score. In turn, credit to Fylde who were as keen to prevent tries against as they were to score them at the other end. The defence held firm, including four tackles in a row by the tenacious Sam Parker, and the final whistle went, leaving both coaches highly satisfied with an excellent team performance. Harrogate named Tristan Woodman their man of the match, but every one of the 20-man squad performed to a high level, with Cole Potts on debut fitting in seamlessly and looking a valuable addition to the squad.
Chris Briers said: “Yesterday was a really strong performance from us. We went to Harrogate confident but knew the pitch would be heavy and might affect how we play. However, the boys were accurate and played some fantastic rugby, not allowing the conditions to prevent us playing our expansive game. Myself and Alex were also extremely proud of how well we defended and managed to keep Harrogate off the scoresheet.”
Next up for Fylde is Hull Ionians at home next Saturday. Ionians sit in third with 11 wins from 13 and gave Fylde an almighty scare in the away match in September, Fylde winning narrowly 34-31. Coaches Loney & Briers know their squad will need to prepare well and perform at an optimum level again in what should be a high-quality game.
Fylde: Dorrington; Lanigan (Turner 53), Wilkinson (Stott 63), Stott (Rawlings 31), Grimes; Smith, Potts; Bowker (Barrow 36), Gregory (c), (Parker 62), Ashcroft (Bowker 62), Parkinson, Garrod, Harrison, Woodman (Higginson 53), Fairbrother
Harrogate: Raubitschek, Bainbridge, Rawlinson, Fox (Pearson), Yates, Steene (Macnab), Olley, Parker-Clarke (Elsayed), Baxter, Peace, Fenn (Hill), Phipps, Jackson (Jones), Dodds, Spencer-Jones