Fylde 31 Wharfedale 30: report by Will Judd
Fylde faced Wharfedale on Saturday on a cold, overcast and miserable day… but there was nothing miserable about the game that unfolded.
The boys from the coast were eager to build the Woodlands back into the fortress it has been for most of this season. However, it would be tough against an opposition that were level with them in the table heading into the match.
And Wharfedale proved just how difficult an afternoon it would be for Fylde with a try only two minutes into the game. Their first moments of possession resulted in an optimistic line break. The initial try-saving tackle was super, but it was deemed futile as lock Elliot Stockton bundled over the line only a matter of phases later. The conversion was good which gave Wharfedale an early 0-7 advantage.
Despite the blow of losing wing Cam Smith to injury very early on (to be replaced by Jordan Dorrington), Fylde were close to bouncing back moments later, but a knock-on metres away from the line was a sign of things to come in the first half.
The gap was extended by Wharfedale at the quarter-of-an-hour mark as fly-half Rob Davidson converted a penalty kick, given thanks to their scrum which rocked the Fylde forwards for much of the game due to the influence of the Greens’ prop Jake Armstrong.
Fylde’s second chance to open their account came minutes later, but the ball was held up on the line, adding to the list of everything that went wrong for the boys in the opening 40.
The list was added when some neat, sharp passes from the Wharfedale’s backs opened the gap for the pacy left wing Rian Hamilton to dive into the left-hand corner for the away side’s second try of the game. A solid conversion extended the Wharfedale lead to 17 points.
As residents of the Fylde Coast will know, when it rains it pours, which is exactly what happened to the home team in the first half. Another line break at the half hour mark came after some sloppy Fylde play gifted the visitors the ball and Hamilton repeated the treatment to score a try in the corner. No conversion, although the home team still had a monumental mountain to climb with the score being sat at 0-22.
A glimmer of hope was shown to the Woodlands though, as in the dying moments of the first half, Wharfedale’s Jack Pinder was sent to the bin. Some strong halftime words were needed though as Fylde had not shown up to the game in the first half.
Whatever was said seemed to pay off as the second half began. Fylde began their comeback through Freddie Reader who made a clever inside step to lead several defenders grasping at thin air on his way to the try line. A neat conversion by Patrick Bishop put Fylde on their way.
In the 49th minute they were back again as another clever bit of footwork allowed Fylde into the opposition 22. It was Jordan Dorrington who eventually touched down a few phases later with a powerful drive close to the try line.
The comeback was almost complete when Jordan this time burst down the left touchline from halfway in the 61st minute scattering defenders, after a superb one handed lineout claim from Matt Garrod and then an evenly classier offload from Freddie Reader. So good was Dorrington’s 40m sprint, he was able to run all the way over to between the posts before touching down for a try. The conversion was made simple for Bishop and with 20 minutes left to play Fylde were only one point behind.
This scoreline didn’t last thanks to Toby Harrison driving over attempted tackles on the opposition try line, scoring emphatically. After yet another successful Bishop kick Fylde finally had the lead in the contest, unimaginable given the first half performance. They also picked up a 4-try bonus point on the way.
But the game was not over yet. The visitors replied immediately up the other end with Harry Bullough flying over the tryline clinching a try scoring bonus point in the process. The conversion was missed however which left Wharfedale only one point behind with ten minutes to play.
Indeed, the final 10 truly was one for the ages. It began with Corey Bowker being carded for the home side due to constant scrum penalties, something which Fylde simply could not get a grip on all game.
Wharfedale began to use this man advantage well and pressured Fylde, eventually resulting in them securing a penalty kick directly 25m out in front of posts. In a most unlikely outcome, Rob Davidson hit the upright and the opportunity was wasted.
Luckily for Davidson, he was given a second chance a few minutes later with another penalty which he made no mistake in slotting away for a 28-30 lead. With only minutes left it looked as though the visitors had done it. All that was needed was to keep the ball for a few phases after kick off and the win was theirs.
Even the Wharfedale coaches were celebrating, but the rugby gods had other ideas. Miraculously, a cataclysmic effort from the Fylde defence saw them win a turnover just shy of the Wharfedale 22 in the dying seconds.
The job of winning the game fell to one man, Patrick Bishop. The entirety of the Woodlands Memorial Ground looked on as he prepared for the kick. With the crowd perfectly silent, fans and players alike waiting with bated breath, he puffed out his cheeks and kicked the ball.
Despite all pressure being on the young man’s shoulders, he struck the ball as straight as an arrow clean through the posts, resulting in the Woodlands erupting. They’d done it. Somehow and someway Fylde had come back, not only from 22 unanswered points in the first half, but also from the jaws of defeat seconds away from the final whistle. It truly was a Christmas miracle… or just part of the plan, right?
FYLDE: 1 C Bowker, 2 T Davis, 3 P Altham (O Trippier), 4 M Walton, 5 M Garrod, 6 L Quinn (S Parker), 7 T Harrison ©, 8 D Fairbrother; 9 B Gould, 10 P Bishop; 11 C Smith (J Dorrington ), 12 A Clayton, 13 S Stott, 14 B Turner; 15 F Reader.
Non playing replacements: C Rudkin & G Morgan.
WHARFEDALE: 1 B Patchett (S Dickinson 16), 2 D Stockdale (Collinson 72), 3 J Armstrong, 4 J Burton (S Borrill 61), 5 E Stockton, 6 J Pinder (A Weston 69), 7 J Fawcett, 8 T Beresford; 9 O Kaup-Samuels (O Riddiough 54) , 10 R Davidson; 11 O Bullock, 12 O Cicognini, 13 J Prell, 14 R Hamilton; 15 H Bullough.