FYLDE vs BILLINGHAM: match report by Will Judd
Fylde 22 Billingham 12
What a day for it, warm weather and gorgeous sunshine provided perfect conditions for a good old game of rugby at the Woodlands. Fylde welcomed Billingham who, despite appearing towards the bottom of the table, had won their previous three games. It was going to be no walk-over for the home side.
Or would it? Fylde came out the blocks flying when Freddie Reader received the ball and broke through the Billingham defence with ease to score Fylde’s first on the game. It was a simple enough conversion for Will Hunt, despite it being his only one of the game, and Fylde were 7-0 up within five minutes.
That was until Adam Lanigan produced almost a carbon-copy line break and wrestled over the line, out-muscling the away side’s last man. It was a dream start for the Woodlanders and they had a 12 point lead after only 10 minutes.
Billingham did finally get into the game though after Fylde’s awesome start and began to pile on pressure. They were camped in the Fylde 22 for phase after phase, but some superb line defence ensured two tries were held-up and Billingham were still pointless.
Fylde’s reward for their excellent defence was something even more special from stand-off Hunt. After receiving the ball on the half-way with limited options he played a neat chip pass to winger Adam Lanigan, who promptly returned the pass before contact. Heading round the back of the resulting maul, Hunt squeezed over for a brilliant individual try and gave his side a 17 point lead.
Just shy of half time, Billingham finally got some deserved points on the board when prolonged pressure finally turned into a Ben Walton try. No conversion however so Billingham faced a 17-5 deficit at half-time.
A deficit that only increased when Fylde’s early doors pressure, similar to the first half, produced a well worked team try finished by Ben Dorrington. Strangely, however, this was where the positive ended for Fylde in the match.
The scoreboard did not tell the full picture of the match and Billingham were knocking on the door to change that. Eventually they were able to break Fylde’s defence down when a Dorrington challenge was deemed to deny a clear try scoring opportunity and a penalty try was awarded. It was hero to zero for Dorrington when he was inevitably sin binned for his actions.
Miraculously, that was the final score of the game, even with half-an-hour to play. Fylde came close when the referee blew his whistle, denying prop Peter Altham a gorgeously acrobatic assist, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
Billingham’s pack was resolute throughout with their huge props, Dan Dixon and Adam Brown, always featuring in the loose and tight exchanges. Lock Ben Walton was lively and had a head to head against his brother Michael who has had a very successful first season for Fylde.
There were still some talking points during the remainder of the game, however, as tensions on-pitch began to boil over as Fylde began to worry about losing their lead. It culminated in the 53rd minute when Hunt was involved in an altercation, some ‘argy bargy’ in the ruck. His punishment was a yellow card.
In the 68th minute Jordan Dorrington was in a heavy collision near Fylde’s left touchline and, after prolonged on-field attention, was helped off the pitch in a great deal of pain. Everyone sends their best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
Fylde were under pressure for the remainder of the game in a disappointing 2nd half display. However, they remained strong and scraped over the line for a hard fought win, a good way to set up their last two fixtures, a visit to Wharfedale next Saturday and then the final game at the Woodlands this season when 2nd placed Sheffield are the visitors. They have a good chance of finishing the season in 4th place where they have been for the great proportion of the season.
It was pleasing to see a big crowd at the ground, 847 in all with some 240 people enjoying the pre-match meal. Of the 28 matches in the National Leagues in England, Fylde registered the 3rd highest attendance.
Leeds Tykes wrapped up the championship of National Two (North) when they edged past a brave challenge from Sheffield Tigers by 24-27 at Dore Moor. They will be competing next season in National One. The position at the bottom of Fylde’s division is still uncertain as four clubs – Hull, Billingham, Harrogate & Preston Grasshoppers – battle it out to avoid the single relegation place. We do know that Darlington Mowden Park and Rossendale will join N2(N) next season.
FYLDE: 15 Reader; 14 DorringtonJ (Lanigan 68), 13 Clayton, 12 Stott (Smith 43), 11 Lanigan (Turner 57); 10 Hunt, 9 Gaughan; 1 Bowker (Rudkin 20, Bowker 48), 2 Richardson (Davis 40), 3 Altham (King 20, Altham 48), 4 Walton, 5 Morgan, 6 Harrison, 7 DorringtonB (Williamson 66), 8 Fairbrother.
BILLINGHAM: 15 Husband; 14 Scarborough, 13 Groark, 12 Wilson, 11 Horner; 10 Evans, 9 Lane; 1 Brown, 2 Graham, 3 Dixon, 4 Walton, 5 White, 6 Burns, 7 Campbell, 8 Jackson. Replacements: 16 Headlam, 17 Beadling, 18 Armstrong, 19 Hill, 20 Rickard.
