Alex Loney looks back at Lancashire’s game in Somerset and ahead to rest of the Bill Beaumont County Championship in his interview with the Blackpool Gazette’s Andy Moore. [Reproduced courtesy of the Gazette]
Lancashire head coach Alex Loney was proud of his Fylde RFC players’ contribution as the county team moved within one win of another Twickenham showpiece. The Red Rose side won 24-17 at Somerset in their Bill Beaumont Senior County Championship opener, setting up a Roses clash at the Woodlands on Saturday to decide the group.
Fylde provided nine of Lancashire’s starting XV for the 500-mile round trip to Weston-super-Mare – Sedgley Park served up the other six – with two more of Loney’s club players among the replacements.
He told the Gazette: “We are really proud of the Fylde players and the commitment they have shown by throwing their hat into the ring for a big away trip. The fact all our points were scored by Fylde players shows their importance to the team effort.”
Despite conceding the opening try, Lancashire led 21-5 at half-time as Sam Stott’s try was sandwiched between two from clubmate Ben Turner. Alex Clayton’s penalty provided the only Red Rose points of the second half as the hosts finished just one converted try behind.
It was far tighter than last year’s match at the Woodlands, where Lancashire prevailed 54-33, and Loney added: “It was a really good advert for county rugby; full-blooded and tense. Both teams knew what it meant and really wanted to win, and there were some nice tries scored. Credit to Somerset for keeping on pushing, but we stayed calm when they got back within seven points and we did let some easy chances slip by.”
Lancashire continue to train at Fylde during the week ahead of the decisive clash with Yorkshire, as they bid to lift the county crown for the first time in seven years.
“We’ll have players who will be available for the Yorkshire game who couldn’t travel to Somerset, and vice versa, so it will be tricky for the managers,” said Loney. “You want it to be really competitive for places and we have quality players sticking their hand up.”
Yorkshire enter the fray this Saturday, hosting Somerset at Hull Ionians, and it’s a tough one for Loney to call.
“The Somerset team we played was full of top-end National Two players and they have loads of quality,” he said. “Now they have to travel a long way, having had their hopes dented by Lancashire. They will have questions to answer but if they play anything like they can, they will give Yorkshire a good game. That doesn’t change what we have to do on the 31st, when we need a win to get to Twickenham for the final next month.”
POSTSCRIPT
A very strong Yorkshire line-up swept aside Somerset’s challenge at Hull Ionians’ ground on Saturday, winning by 66-14 in a 10-try rout.
So the fate of the Northern Group rests on the Lancashire v Yorkshire game at the Woodlands on Saturday (ko 15.00). The successful team will progress through to the Twickenham Final against Kent who qualified via an excellent 18-34 victory over Cornwall at Redruth.
Yorkshire have the advantage of leading the group with 5 points compared with Lancashire’s 4 as they missed out on a bonus point when they won in Somerset the previous week.