Lymm 28 Fylde 50: report by Simon Taylor
Fylde bounced back to form to put the disappointment of their off day against Wharfedale the previous week behind them. In a fast, open, and exciting game they traded blows with a game Lymm outfit for 50 minutes before scoring 33 unanswered points in the last 28 minutes to take the game away from the hosts. The 7 tries to 4 win gave them a bonus point victory, with Lymm deserving their try bonus point for their willingness to chuck the ball around and contribute to a fine spectacle.
Fylde welcomed back Matt Garrod to the second row, with the Swiss Army Knife utility forward Matt Ashcroft again packing down at blind side wing forward, his fourth scrum position this season, a testament to what the modern-day prop can do. With neither Carleton available, Tom Forster was at centre with Ben Turner back on the left wing. A strong bench of Altham, Brooks, Burrow, Rawlings and Parker was to prove a crucial factor in the game.
Fylde started with a bang as stand-off Greg Smith danced through some heavy traffic near the Lymm line in the 2nd minute and converted for a 7-0 lead. Back came Lymm when scrum half Cal Morris took a quick tap and go penalty to catch Fylde flat footed, Tom Shard gaoled the try and it was 7 apiece. A Smith penalty on 18 minutes nudged Fylde 10-7 in front before the first of several cracking tries followed.
From a scrum in their own 22 Fylde span the ball left & gave Turner some space on the edge, he sped down the wing and chipped inside. Forster gathered, Fylde went right then left and Toby Harrison carried well, with the Lymm defence fanning out, scrum half Ben Gould saw the mis-match, sold the dummy, and squeezed past the much bigger defender to score a neat try. Smith converted and Fylde were 17-7 up after half an hour.
Lymm were struggling to live with Fylde when the phases racked up but were let off the hook when errors crept in, and they could gather their breath. They foraged up field and a Fylde kick out of defence gave them the chance to return with interest. Something went awry in the Fylde defensive structure as a gap the size of the Grand Canyon opened up, a gap flanker Harry Martin was more than happy to run through from 30m out and coast to the line. Shard converted and at half time Fylde, having played with the wind, were only narrowly on the positive side of the ledger at 17-14 up.
The first 10 minutes of the second half was not a period Fylde will remember fondly. A promising move on halfway turned into a gift for Lymm when Nathan Beesley intercepted and ran in unopposed on 43 minutes. Lymm roared back into the Fylde 22 shortly afterwards and prop Matty Hand finished strongly from short range. With Shard knocking both conversions over, a 17-7 lead for Fylde had turned into a 28-17 lead for Lymm in the space of 9 minutes. Fylde were swaying in the wind and newly promoted Lymm had the scent of a famous league double in their nostrils. Who scored next could be crucial.
Coaches Alex Loney and Chris Briers decided it was time to act and use the strength of the bench to make some changes. The old and the young show came to town, as wily veteran Scott Rawlings and the raw talent of Tom Burrow came on in a bid to alter the dynamics of the game, a move that was to pay instant dividends. Lymm also called on replacements including young prop Joe Higgins who played numerous games for Fylde last season.
In the 51st minute Smith kicked a penalty to touch 20 yards out and Matt Garrod’s towering take set up the catch and drive. This was expertly perfected with Lymm unable to stop it, Rawlings relishing his new hybrid line-backer/running back role as he was last man up, even being so cheeky as to pinch the ball off try machine skipper ‘Burglar Ben’ Gregory as the line beckoned. Smith missed his only kick of the day, but Fylde had stopped the rot and were back in it at 22-28 down on 52 minutes.
Fylde had by now re-found their mojo and proceeded to produce probably their best sustained spell of near-perfect rugby of the season. They upped the tempo, and crucially produced the accuracy to go with it, meaning Lymm could not live with the number of phases they were being asked to defend. On the hour strong carries by Tye Raymont, Sam Stott and Tom Burrow took them to within inches of the line. Ben Gould took the quickly recycled ball and went over, only to be held up. However, the Lymm defender had tackled Gould coming back from an offside position, was yellow carded and the penalty try was awarded, a brave decision, but the correct one. Fylde were now back in front by the narrowest of margins at 29-28.
In the reverse fixture in September, Lymm stand-off Tom Shard had kicked a late drop goal to guide Lymm home by a single point. Fylde had 20 minutes to make sure he did not get the chance to repeat his heroics, and they certainly didn’t not take their foot off the gas on this occasion. Gould may have been denied a double once, but he made no mistake on 65 minutes when given a second chance, as he sneaked over from short range, after good work by Olli Parkinson, Burrow and Turner had once again stretched the Lymm defence out of shape. A lovely conversion from wide out by Smith meant Fylde now had breathing space at 36-28.
Still Fylde did not relent, and on 72 minutes went further ahead. Turner fielded a Lymm kick on his own 10-yard line and Fylde went through a full 15 phases, hard for any team to defend. Multiple willing ball carriers including an impressive three from Matt Ashcroft finally gave Sam Stott a sniff and he bounced the last two weary tacklers off to go over from 15 out, Smith goaled, it was 43-28, and the plucky hosts had effectively, and finally, been put to bed.
Fylde were not content to leave it there though, with a half century in sight, and produced the try of the day. Lymm had a line out 10 out from the Fylde line but overthrew it. Fylde took 3 phases to settle, then still in their own 22 Smith sent over a pinpoint and sumptuous cross-field kick. Ben Gregory gathered, evaded the first man, drew the next, and put Turner clear 60 yards out, Turner showed a clean pair of heels then jinked and swerved just enough to make the last man miss and touched down. A lovely try deserved to be converted and Smith obliged, 50-28.
Lymm had been put to the sword in the final half hour but came back with one last effort to their credit, however, good defence forced the error, and the referee blew time on an excellent game, played by two teams keen to play open and entertaining rugby.
Your reporter shaded Tye Raymont as man of the match with Sam Stott and Ben Gould in equal seconds, Gould is looking more confident to show his eye for the gap as he gets more matches under his belt. However, as always, it was an all-round team effort with strong carrying all over the pitch and more appetite for the clear out by the likes of Corey Bowker to present the clean quick ball that Fylde need to play the game at the tempo they prefer. The scrum was solid forcing a couple of penalties and with three top class jumpers in Parkinson, Garrod and Burrow the Fylde line out is a major source of quick ball off the top. The win saw Fylde strengthen their hold on fourth place as third place Sheffield beat fifth place Wharfedale. With Fylde still to play the top 3 at home those games will go a long way to dictating where they finish this season. Fylde now have a week off to rest some bumps and bruises before they face a huge game as second place Rotherham visit the Woodlands on 10th February.
Coach Chris Briers commented: ‘We started fast, and things looked good, but errors meant we were frustrated at half time. In the first 10 minutes of the second half Lymm profited from more errors but after that it all came together and the final score line showed that when we are accurate and we piece things together we can score lots of tries. We will look to play the way we did in the last half hour when we take on Rotherham, creating our own opportunities and giving them as few as possible.’
Click here for video coverage of Fylde’s seven tries https://bit.ly/3HBGJjO
Teams:
Fylde: Dorrington; Turner, Forster (Rawlings 48), Stott (Forster 70), Lanigan; Smith, Gould; Bowker (Brooks 70), Gregory (Captain), Raymont (Altham 76), Garrod (Parker 76), Parkinson, Harrison, Bentley (Burrow 48)
Lymm: Beesley; Williams, Pilkington, Kimber, Jennings; Shard, Morris; Woods, Makin, Hand, Yates, Thompson, Hadland, Martin, Lilley. Replacements: Ashton, Higgins, Johnson, Higginson, Stride.
