Fylde is delighted to welcome 22 years old Patrick Bishop to the Club for the 2024-25 National League season. In the last three seasons Patrick has been playing principally at fly-half for the Durham University 1st XV in the BUCS Championship.
Patrick learnt his rugby initially with Ripon RFC Mini-Juniors and at Kesteven RFC before moving to study at Lancaster Royal Grammar School. He played rugby and progressed at LRGS from 1st year to upper 6th under successive Heads of Rugby, Evan Stewart and Alex Loney.
At a Junior level Patrick earned representative honours for Lancashire under 15s, 16s and 18s and also for Sale Sharks Academy from under 15s to the under 18s Academy League.
Patrick (5’11” & 87 kg) has earned 52 BUCS super rugby caps for Durham University 1st XV over three rugby seasons (2021-22, 2022-23 & 2023-24). He was fly-half in the BUCS Super Rugby league winning and record breaking 21-22 season and he skippered the 1st XV in the 22-23 season.
Patrick said: “I consider myself primarily a 10 as I have played the majority of my rugby there. However, I am comfortable at 12 or 15 and I have spent some of the 2023-24 season playing at 15 for Durham.
Asked about how he linked up with Fylde, he said: “I asked Alex a few years ago if I could come down to Fylde pre-season and I’ve been doing that for the past three years now before heading up to start the university pre-season. This provided me with a chance to get a head start on the university pre-season but also the opportunity to get to know some of the boys at Fylde and understand what the Club is about.”
“I know Alex well from school and he got in touch this year to ask if I would be keen to come to play for Fylde for this season after finishing my Management masters degree and I said I’d be delighted.”
Patrick has been Fylde’s first choice fly-half in the early 2024-25 National League fixtures and has impressed coaches, team mates and supporters alike. Taking over the goal kicking role against Preston Grasshoppers, Patrick has been successful with 13 out of 14 conversion attempts, a number from the touchlines.
How has he adapted to the Club’s culture and style in these early weeks? Patrick said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first couple of months at Fylde, and everyone has made me feel incredibly welcome. At Durham University, we played a different style of rugby, one that focused on a strong set piece and a well-executed kicking game, and it brought us a lot of success during my time at the University.
“Fylde’s reputation for playing expansive, running rugby is something I’m still adjusting to, but I’m loving the challenge and feel like I’m becoming more comfortable with it each week. I have really enjoyed the transition from university rugby to playing in the national leagues and want to continue enjoying each game that I am apart of.
“At Fylde, while we’ve had a few performances where things haven’t quite clicked as a squad, there have been promising signs. Over the last couple of weekends, we’ve shown a real improvement, scoring some well worked tries and starting to demonstrate what we can achieve with ball in hand when we put phases together.
“We had a well earned win on the road against Hull Ionians. From what the senior players have said, wins there don’t come easily, so it was a big result for us and hopefully a real confidence booster moving forward. We started strong, playing positive rugby, but there were moments where Hull had their spells of pressure. For us, it’s about learning how to manage those periods when things aren’t going our way and staying resilient.
“Personally, one of the aspects I’m enjoying the most is the time spent in the Clubhouse after games. At Durham, we shared our matchday ground with Durham City RFC who massively looked after us, so we had a great clubhouse environment where we could socialise and build strong relationships, something that not every university setup has. It’s been great to experience that again here at Fylde, getting to know everyone involved with the club and learning what playing for Fylde means to different people.
“I’m really excited about the upcoming fixtures, especially our home game against Harrogate on the 19th, and want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped me settle in at Fylde.”
Alex Loney, Fylde’s Joint Head Coach, said: “We have full confidence in Patrick as a kicker and as a player in such a pivotal position. We’re over the moon with him and I’m sure there is only better to come.”
