Fylde vs Rotherham: match report by Elliot Burrow
Rugby, as they say, can sometimes well and truly be a game of two halves, and this match was a perfect example of that. A first half that was full of points and at times seemed non-stop, turned into a second half which had far more control to it with both teams at times stuck in a stalemate and not being able to win the tug of war.
All that was then rounded off with a tense finish, but it was Fylde who managed to win the arm wrestle and complete a league double over Rotherham for the first time in their history.
After moving to top of the National Two (North) table last week thanks to their 31-12 win over Blaydon and Sedgley’s game against Hull Ionians being called off due to the cold weather, Fylde were looking to keep their home fortress intact from the visiting ‘Titans’.
Matt Garrod returned to the pack with Adam Lanigan also featuring back on the wing and Sale Academy prop Patreece Bell was in line to make his debut from the bench after joining on dual registration for the game.
Opposition Rotherham had endured a mixed set of results so far this season, winning eight and losing seven games as they sat 6th in the league table. Five of those defeats had come on the road, and a 24-10 away loss to Tynedale in their last match saw them lose further ground on the teams at the top of the league. Boasting a powerful set of forwards, which epitomised their nickname, they had plenty of fire power in their ranks though to pose a real threat to Fylde.
In the reverse fixture this campaign it was Fylde who ran out easy 41-16 winners at Clifton Lane, outscoring the hosts five tries to one in their first ever win away against the ‘Titans’ since the two first met back in the 1995/1996 season.
Last season when the two teams met here it was Fylde who walked away with a narrow 21-17 victory, and as Rotherham kicked us off in the light rain, Fylde were hoping they could do the same again.
Fast starts are always a guarantee at the Woodlands, but it was the visitors that put the first points on the board in this game, Fylde failing to clear their lines and conceding a penalty, which Lloyd Hayes obliged to slot over from 30 metres out to give them a 3-0 lead.
It was the hosts though who managed to get the first try of the afternoon, when after a period of possession on the Rotherham line they won a scrum five metres out, and from that David Fairbrother shot out of the back and sent Sam Stott on his way to charge over the line to score, Greg Smith added the extras to make it 7-3.
Hayes popped over another penalty goal to reduce Fylde’s advantage to a single point, but he could only sit back and watch moments later when Fylde executed an excellent passing move to go over for their second try.
A move which started from the lineout saw the hosts ship the ball out to the left through hands, where Adam Lanigan poked his head through a gap and offloaded to the supporting Jordan Dorrington who raced away to score to take Fylde’s lead to 12-6.
As mentioned before the game, Rotherham had a powerful set of forwards in their repertoire, and they made use of them when after two failed attempts to get over from a rolling maul they barged their way over through prop Charlie Capps, with Hayes converting to edge them back in front.
The game and lead for that matter was developing into a tug of war, both sides trading penalty goals through the league’s top two points scorers Smith and Hayes as Rotherham kept their noses in front.
Fylde were determined to make sure they went in at half-time with the lead, and they did just that thanks to some very quick thinking from Fairbrother.
Fairbrother has been excellent for Fylde in recent weeks, and he showed his experience when Fylde won a penalty 20 metres out from the Rotherham line, and as the visitors defence set up for the kick to the corner that they presumed was coming, ‘Fairy’ grabbed the ball and tapped quickly, before moving the ball out to the right through hands to send Dorrington over for his second try in the corner, Fylde 20-16 in at the break.
After a quiet spell with neither side having any clear cut chances, it was Fylde who got the ball rolling again when, after a messy build up down their left, Connor Wilkinson took a pass off Fairbrother and dived over in the corner for a converted score just after the 50 minute mark.
Despite Fylde edging into an 11 point lead, it was Rotherham who were finishing the game with a flourish and threatening to stage a late fightback. It took them time though to reduce Fylde’s advantage, Callum Bustin going over to score off a rolling maul five minutes from the final whistle which Hayes converted to bring it back to 27-23.
Top points scorer Hayes had kept his cool all afternoon to maintain his 100% kicking record, but it was the right boot of Fylde’s Smith which disrupted the momentum of any Rotherham come back, as complete silence fell amongst the entire ground as he stepped up and slotted over another penalty goal to make it 30-23.
One last charge from the visitors earnt them a final go at the Fylde line when they won a penalty and kicked to the corner, all signs pointing towards a rolling maul for Fylde to defend. Surprisingly though they didn’t go with that option and opted to run it from the lineout, and when the attack broke down a few phases later, scrum half Cole Potts passed back to Smith, who booted the ball out over the dead ball line to bring the game to the end and secure a Fylde victory.
A ninth home win of the season was all wrapped up for Fylde, every one seemingly becoming more and more important as we move towards the business end of the competition. The first half allowed Fylde to show how dangerous they are when they put players in motion and move the ball around, Sam Stott in particular running the ball in exceptionally hard at times to not only score but put Fylde on the front foot when attacking.
In the second half they had to rely on their defence to keep the Rotherham forwards at bay, Stott again putting in some big hits, alongside the tenacious Henry Higginson who secured some vital wins for his side at the breakdown. Jordan Dorrington, and all of Fylde’s backline for that matter, are very versatile, and Dorrington himself didn’t just score two tries, but brought back some excellent kick returns and kept his cool when he could’ve quite easily of got flustered, to make sure Fylde held off the late charge from the visitors.
Next up they face a tough trip on the road to face Otley who they haven’t met so far this season since they gained promotion back into the National Division Two North, before they return home on 11 February to take on Preston Grasshoppers in the derby.
Click here for video coverage of Fylde’s four tries.
Click here for Chris Farrow’s portfolio of action photos.
Line-ups
Fylde: Dorrington, Lanigan, Wilkinson, Stott, Grimes (Rawlings 40), Smith, Potts, Barrow (Bell 50), Gregory, Bowker (Higgins 65), Parkinson, Garrod (Corrie 35), Harrison (Garrod 74), Higginson, Fairbrother. Replacements: Bell, Higgins, Corrie, Rawlings, Turner.
Rotherham: Veall, Taylor, Hayes, Bustin, Sableman-Blue, Dever, Boxhall, Capps, Bergmanas, Denman, Challinor, Allan, Nwosu-Hope, Payne, Poole. Replacements: Richardson, Rylance, Cambier, Ramrattan, Tucker.
Star men: Jordan Dorrington/Sam Stott – It’s the first time that I’ve given this to two players but I really couldn’t separate the pair, and Fylde’s new social media chief and scrum half Matt Sturgess answered my call on Twitter after the game to add Stott’s name into the mix. Dorrington‘s two tries were two well executed and two very well taken moves which gave Fylde an important 20-16 lead going in at half-time, while Stott got the scoring underway with his charging run onto a Fairbrother pass and continued to run hard for the rest of the match and tackle even harder. Honours shared, but more importantly both excelled to get Fylde the win.
Game breaking moment: Connor Wilkinson scored a vital try last time Fylde played at home, and he did so again here. The game had seemingly fell into a deadlock at 20-16 after half-time, with neither side creating any real clear cut chances to take control, but when Wilkinson dived over in the left corner after a quick pass from Fairbrother, Fylde moved into a 11 point lead and also claimed the bonus point which turned out to be a winning one.
Referee: Geraint Roberts