“You can’t tame the tiger or outfox the fox”
Fylde and Sedgley played 80 minutes of breath-taking rugby on Saturday afternoon, in a match that had everyone on the edge of their imaginary seats around The Woodlands from start to finish.
The build-up to the match was quite simple, it was first in the league versus second, the home side the perfect nine from nine on their own soil, the visitors winning all 19 matches so far this season, someone’s 100% record, having to go.
But no one even considered the possibility that both of them could.
Sedgley were calm, composed and clinical to put themselves into a 12-0 lead, but then came the fightback from Fylde which completely rocked the Tigers and saw them go 19-12 up.
They soon regained their balance to level it at 19-19, and three missed penalty goals later, which all brought absolute silence to the entire Lytham coast it seemed, that’s how it finished, as the points were shared.
It was a tense atmosphere around the ground prior to kick-off, there was no calm before the storm. A clubhouse which was packed full of both sets of supporters showed how much the game meant to the sides, one of them looking for a repeat, the other out for revenge.
That 23-12 defeat to Tynedale last week was a body blow which had put Fylde’s promotion bid down to the canvas, and now it was a case of were they going to be able to get back up again and beat the count.
This was a chance for Sedgley to deliver that final knock out punch, but make no mistake, Fylde were going to go down swinging. Chris Briers and Alex Loney made three changes to the starting line-up, Ben Turner, Matt Garrod and a first team debut for Freddie Deeks were the players that came in.
Meanwhile, the opposition only had one alteration from the squad that beat Wharfedale 35-31, Oscar Crowe starting at lock.
Fylde controlled all of the possession in the opening 10 minutes, keeping the ball and settling into things while the Sedgley defence stood firm. A lapse in concentration at the line-out though saw the visitors react the quickest and give themselves a chance to turn the tables, and see what the home side were really made of.
Their powerful forwards, which had given Fylde nightmares since that day last February where they walked away from the Lytham coast with a 38-0 victory, were starting to make them relive it all over again.
Oscar Crowe eventually barging his way over to score after a sustained bombardment on the Fylde line, with Stephen Collins converting to make it 7-0.
The groundsman must’ve found himself thinking that there was something wrong with the pitch at both teams try lines, because all the action was unfolding right in the middle of it. Unlike like last year where all that rain cast the match in doubt, it was perfect playing conditions, and a staring contest was developing between both sets of players almost, neither wanting to blink and lose their focus.
Sedgley were seemingly just waiting to pounce though like their namesake, and they were clinical on 31 minutes to take their next chance, when another strong driving maul saw hooker Danny Maher score his 14th try of the season. Collins missed the kick, leaving it at 12-0, but Fylde weren’t going to go away quietly, and came roaring back.
On 37 minutes, Sam Stelmaszek was sin binned for a deliberate knock on, and the hosts took advantage, sucking the visitors into the middle, and moving the ball out-wide quickly to David Fairbrother who crashed over to score on his 150th appearance for the club. Smith converted to bring it to 12-7 to Sedgley at half-time.
That try before the break seemed to have given Fylde the confidence boost they needed, and a slick passing move out to the left put Tom Grimes in at the corner to level things up.
They then went ahead for the first time in the match a few minutes later, Sedgley trying to play out of their own half and making an uncharacteristic error, which allowed Connor Wilkinson to pick up the pieces and race away to score, Smith converted and it was 19-12 to Fylde.
With their unbeaten record under serious threat, Sedgley responded through a good attacking move of their own, George Bordill finishing it off and Collins converting to make it all square again with 20 minutes to play.
Pressure bumped up another notch, if that was even possible at this point.
There’s that saying that all good things come in threes, both teams had scored three tries each in the match and now it was time for the three penalty goal attempts.
First Collins tried to edge his side back in front from 40 metres out, nothing but silence as he stepped up, but his attempt fell wide. Smith then decided it was Fylde’s turn to give it a crack as well, more silence ensued, but his effort from 50 metres out was also unsuccessful.
Third time is usually the charm then, but that wasn’t to be the case for Smith, you could hear a pin drop once more as he approached to kick it, but his effort fell short with only two minutes left on the clock, and left it level.
By the time that Sedgley skipper Matt Riley decided to bring an end to it all by kicking the ball out of play from a penalty tap, we had well and truly gone past the 80 minute mark, almost five minutes to be exact. 19-19 it finished, the points shared, a classic had just played out.
It would’ve been more than fitting for both sets of players to take a much deserved bow at the end of the game, but Sedgley couldn’t outfox the Fylde fox, and Fylde didn’t manage to fully tame the tiger.
Fylde joint coach Chris Briers was proud of the way his team performed throughout the full match, he said: “The way we kept the ball in that first-half was excellent I thought, and we knew that it had to tire them out, which then gave us those chances in the second-half.
“We knew we had let ourselves down last week at Tynedale and if we turned up like that today, no disrespect to Tynedale of course because they were brilliant but, we would be swept aside easily. I’m just happy we’ve played how we’ve played and it was a great game from start to finish.”
A trip to Yorkshire to take on Huddersfield next week awaits Fylde, before they return home for their penultimate match at The Woodlands on March 25 against Sheffield RUFC.
Line-ups
Fylde: Dorrington, Turner, Wilkinson, Rawlings, Grimes, Smith, Potts, Bowker (Bell 56), Gregory, Ashcroft, Harrison, Garrod, Deeks (Lewis 44), Higginson, Fairbrother. Replacements: Bell, Higgins, Lewis, Gould, Forster.
Sedgley: A.Riley, Henderson, Glasse, M.Riley, Harrison, Collins, Stelmaszek, Blanchard, Maher, Nonleh, Birtwell, Crowe, Goodman, Bentley, Ailes. Replacements: Chilvers, Mallinson, Black, Bedlow, Bordill.
Star men: The entire side – It would be really unfair to single out anyone in particular, because they all contributed to this brilliant performance. Freddie Deeks was excellent until he went off injured with his shoulder, while skipper Ben Gregory did what he’s done for a very long time now and led from the front from the first minute all the way to the very last. David Fairbrother on his 150th appearance for Fylde was superb, and his try at the end of the first-half seemingly lit the fire in the bellies of the Fylde players, and almost led them all the way to victory.
Game breaking moment: There was no official winner in this game, which means there is obviously no game breaking moment, but it was quite clear to everyone watching that rugby itself was the real winner on the day. A cracker not just on the field, but also off it, with both teams showing exactly they are where they are in the league.
Referee: Ben Rayner
Attendance: 1,042