Fylde 36 Sheffield Tigers 12: match report by Allan Foster
As a vail of rain enveloped the Woodlands at the final whistle, the two squads trooped off covered in mud after a game battle in particularly tough conditions. Fylde outscored Sheffield Tigers by six tries to two and deserved maximum league points. With what looked like a decisive 1st half performance by the 38th minute, Fylde led by 26-0. But a 40th minute try by hard working fullback Max Woolgar-Norton closed the gap somewhat though against the run of play.
Fylde had opened the scoring in the 15th minute thanks to a driving run by flanker Mike Walton, an offload to David Fairbrother and a neat pass to centre Sam Stott who finished with elan. Danny Cassidy, operating for a change at fullback, converted easily. The Tigers then began to warm to their task but an error by their backline set them further behind as Fylde fly-half Will Hunt intercepted a pass 35m out and raced clear to score under the posts. Once more Cassidy added the extras for a 14-0 lead.
Five minutes later a splendid kick by Hunt earned a 50-22 to put further pressure on the Tigers defence. From the lineout and subsequent ruck no 9 Gabe Maguire sniped through the defence to score his latest try in an increasingly productive first season for the Club. Cassidy converted the try for a 21-0 lead.
The Tigers struggled to contain the home side but handling errors didn’t help their cause. In the 34th minute, the free running Cassidy grubber kicked through the visitors defence and Maguire won the race to get the touch down and the 4 try bonus point. This time the wide angle defeated Cassidy’s attempted conversion but the 26-0 lead looked like it had created the basis of a clear Fylde win. The 40th minute try before the half-time break by Tigers fullback Woolgar-Norton didn’t look like changing the narrative too much .
But it wasn’t quite how things worked out. The Tigers really upped their efforts after the break and started to cause Fylde serious difficulties. The hard running Tigers backs began to find space and rather weak Fylde tackling gave them encouragement.
However, the first scoring in the 2nd half went to Fylde following a dangerous run by winger Lanigan who was brought down metres from the try line. Tigers gathered possession but replacement flanker Lewis Quinn picked the pocket of a visiting player by wrestling the ball free and drove over for a try and a 31-7 lead.
As the weather deteriorated then Tigers grew in confidence and possession. They began to win more turnovers and their pack collectively began to push the Fylde scrummage backwards. In the 52nd minute neat combination attacking was finished off by a strong run and touchdown by winger Ben Manderfield.
Play gradually deteriorated in line with the weather as the rain poured down. The Tigers brave 2nd half performance gradually fizzled out. In the last minute, a final Fylde attack ended with Stott grabbing his second try in the left corner. The Woodlands pitch looked rather sorry as the referee’s final whistle was blown.
Overall, this was a very good show by both teams in some of the worst conditions at home that experienced observers had witnessed in many years. The Fylde lads battled hard throughout, in particular defending their own try line with tremendous tackling. The pack held its own, with the Walton brothers, skipper Harrison, replacement Quinn and ‘Fairy’ prominent and the front row of Rudkin, Trippier, King, Sutcliffe and ‘out of retirement’ Adam Lewis putting in a hard shift.
The half-back pairing of Hunt and Maguire were always both gutsy and dangerous whilst the wide men had little chance to show their pace on such a wet pitch. Will Hunt was named justifiably as Man of the Match, especially for his 1st half touch and infield kicking display with the wind and rain at his back.
Click here for Chris Farrow’s album of match photos.
FYLDE: Cassidy, Turner, Forster, Stott, Lanigan, Hunt (Clayton 68), Maguire, Rudkin (Bowker 22, Rudkin 66), Trippier (Sutcliffe 25, Trippier 55), King (Lewis 22, King 66), B Walton (Quinn 40), Greenwood, M Walton (B Walton 55) , Harrison, Fairbrother.
SHEFFIELD TIGERS: Woolgar-Norton, Manderfield, Broadley, Goatley, Talbot, Cliff, Talbot, Bennett, Crowe, Wand, Fitzsimons, Santamaria, Gladwin, Redfern, Calladine. Replacements: Jamieson, Simmons, Odams, Goff, Rudd.
Referee: Dave Charlton
Attendance: 570
Man of the Match: Will Hunt (Fylde)
