We are delighted to begin the confirmation of 1st XV squad members who have committed themselves to the Club for the 2024-25 season. And what better way to start that process by confirming two players who’ve grown up through the Club’s Mini-Juniors and 2nd XV and who have now made themselves key National League assets! Both have had excellent 2023-24 campaigns.
TOBY HARRISON
Backrower Toby Harrison is a product of Fylde’s Mini-Juniors and Colts. He attended Lytham St Annes High School and progressed through the Club’s various age group teams, Colts and 2nd XV before earning a 1st XV place in the 2016-17 season.
He studied at Myerscough College on its 3 year AASE programme and represented Lancashire and the North at U’20s level. He made his National League debut towards the end of the 2016-17 campaign and strengthened his position in the squad in the 2017-18 season in National One during which he made 18 appearances.
He left the Club in 2018 and moved to Preston Grasshoppers for the 2019-20 campaign, stayed two seasons and made 50 1st XV appearances for the Lightfoot Green club.
His progress was marked by caps for the senior Lancashire squad at openside flanker in the Bill Beaumont County Championship in 2022. His season was rounded off by winning Lancashire RFU’s Young Player of the Year Award in June 2022.
Since re-joining Fylde for the 2022-23 campaign, he has been a first choice backrower, missing very few matches and making 43 appearances out of a possible 48. With David Fairbrother’s injury at Rotherham on 7th October this season, Toby moved to no 8 and has given sterling service for the rest of the season in that role.
Toby has excellent ball handling skills, is an outstanding, aggressive and brave tackler at the breakdown, a powerful ball carrier and is a clear communicator at the height of the battle. He is durable, quick, reads the game well and shows good leadership skills. In all, he has made 63 Fylde 1st XV appearances and has scored 9 tries.
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ADAM LANIGAN
Adam also progressed through the Club’s MJ Section, Colts and AKS age group teams before eventually joining Leeds Beckett University to study Sports & Exercise Science. On his return to the Fylde Coast in 2018, he initially played for the Hawks squad.
Adam had an unheralded introduction to National League rugby when new no 9 Cameron Crampton was injured very early in the 2018-19 season and Adam stepped up to fill the breach. He made his 1st XV debut at Leicester Lions on 22nd September 2018 and retained his position until Crampton returned to fitness in December. He looked comfortable at National League level and showed a good mixture of game intelligence, adroitness, physicality and support running.
Adam was in the 1st XV squad for the 2019-20 Centenary season and it was a case of déjà vu as Cameron suffered a bad knee injury in the preseason game at the Woodlands against Sandbach. Once again Adam was thrust into National League action, this time in the first game of the season at Scunthorpe. He retained the no 9 shirt for the whole season, scoring two tries in the process, and was an ever present in the Club’s 25 games before the Covid-driven abandonment of the season in March.
In 2021-22 he shared the no 9 shirt with new recruit Matt Sturgess and showed his versatility by covering impressively as a winger when required. With the emergence of another locally developed youngster at scrum-half, Ben Gould, Adam has made the wingers’ berth his own and has proved a very dangerous runner in the last two seasons, being especially productive this campaign, scoring 10 tries in his 22 appearances to date. In all, Adam has made 96 1st XV appearances and scored 25 tries.
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We now move on to two players who joined the Club in 2021.
COREY BOWKER
Corey grew up in the Wigan area, attended the St John Fisher High School and he started his rugby career at Wigan RUFC at under 10s level. He represented Merseyside for a few seasons and was eventually selected for full Lancashire honours at junior level. He progressed to Kirkham Grammar School and developed his career there in the 1st XV and subsequently joined the Sale Sharks Academy. He joined Fylde with the encouragement of the former Head of Rugby at KGS, Aled Trenhaile.
With qualifications for Scotland via his mother, Corey made the Scottish U’18s squad and subsequently was included in the country’s U’20s squad in 2020-21 and played in two of their matches.
The 22 year old (181 cms & 120kg) is a powerful prop, usually at loosehead, sometimes at tight head, who looked comfortable at National League level from the time he joined Fylde for the 2021-22 campaign.
Corey has proven a highly motivated, mobile, durable prop with excellent footballing skills. He’s missed only four matches in the three seasons he’s been with the Club. He’s made 70 1st XV appearances to date, scoring six tries including four this season. He also continues to be an important member of the Fylde Community Rugby Foundation’s coaching staff.
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BEN TURNER
Ben, 25, attended St Joseph’s High School in Bolton and grew up learning his rugby skills through playing at school and at club level for Bolton Rugby Club. He studied at Myerscough College and along the way represented Lancashire U18s and 20s, and trialled for North of England Counties U20s. He joined the University of Bath and played for the University in positions from fly-half to full back and wing.
Ben linked up with the Club in the summer of 2021 through joining the coaching staff of the Fylde Rugby Community Foundation under the direction of Head of Community Coaching Phill Mills. As a by-product, he also joined the Club as a player.
He made his 1st XV debut on the left wing against Wharfedale in October 2021. In fact, this was his senior league rugby debut. He had a sound game against the Green Machine. In the 69th minute Fylde were attacking and just outside the Wharfe 22m line. Greg Smith launched a delightful long chip kick to the left corner and Ben took it on the full and dived into the corner for a superb try.
His National League career has developed apace since that debut and he has shown pace, opportunism and excellent support running, usually as a winger but occasionally at fullback. He has made 49 1st XV appearances and has scored 18 tries in these three seasons, a good strike record.
