Assuming the weather allows, Fylde will travel the short distance into East Lancashire to Marl Pits for their first ever league game against Rossendale at 1st team level (ko 14.15). The Stags gained promotion from the Northern regional leagues last season and joined the National Leagues for the first time.
Lancashire is very much one of the leading rugby counties in England. However, the east of the county is more dominated by football and in the summer cricket. There is very little rugby league presence and rugby union does not enjoy the popularity in schools that it does in other areas in the county.
It is important for the game in Lancashire that this part of the region has a National League presence. Over the past seasons it looked like a shoot out between Blackburn and Rossendale, which eventually saw Rossendale gaining straight promotion. This was after several play off attempts in the past including against Dudley Kingswinford and Sheffield. The clubs in the East – Clitheroe, Colne & Nelson, Burnley, Blackburn and Rossendale – all have thriving junior sections but it is Rossendale that finally broke through into the National League at 1st XV level and we are delighted to welcome them to our fixture list.
he campaign well with two wins (at Hull RUFC and home to Scunthorpe) in their first four games. Since then it’s been rather a struggle with eight successive defeats, some by narrow margins. They currently sit in 13th place in N2(N).
At home and with a noisy pre-Christmas crowd cheering them on, ‘Dale will certainly ask lots of questions of Fylde and the visitors will be very hard pressed to maintain their 100% record away from the Woodlands, five wins out of five to date.
Dales’ record suggests that they aren’t troubled in attacking mode as they’ve scored freely but their defensive record isn’t as impressive.
There are numerous player links between the two clubs, now and in the recent past. For instance, former KGS student and flanker Valu Tane Bentley played two seasons for Fylde and one for Sedgley Park before joining the Stags this season.
Winger Jake Foster had a few seasons playing for the Hawks before moving to Rossendale and then Blackburn. He rejoined Rossendale this season. Popular lock Olly Parkinson moved from Fylde to have a successful season with the Stags in 2024-25 before retirement. Another former KGS product, Seb Krippner, from the Sale Sharks Academy, made an impressive home Fylde debut at the end of last season. He moved to Dale and made an immediate impression scoring five tries in four games at the beginning of the season before he was loaned to Leeds Tykes where he has continued in the same vein.
A few years ago Fylde players Ryan de la Harpe, Dominic Moon and Steve Nutt all had subsequent periods at Marl Pits.
In the summer, Sale Sharks centre Sam Bedlow was named as Rossendale Coach taking on the role from Byron Mcguigan who led them to promotion last season. Sam played numerous games for Fylde on a dual registration basis from Sale.
In the other direction, scrum-half Gabe Maguire has made a very successful switch to Fylde this season and is joint top try scorer.
Rossendale’s Chairman Nick Ingham made the columns of The Rugby Paper in early August with an impassioned complaint about the restrictions on the recruitment of overseas players, a situation that has existed for many years. The hands of National League clubs are tied by an agreement between the Home Office and the RFU, a restriction that doesn’t apply in the lower leagues.
What of their current squad? An important appointment ahead of this season was James Flynn as Forwards Coach and prop forward, with very senior experience at Sale Sharks, Ampthill and Leeds Tykes. He’s joined in the pack by no 8 Mac Duaibe (ex-Camberley, Rochford Hundred, Tonbridge Juddians & star of Kent’s fine win in the 2025 County Championship Final at Twickenham v Yorkshire), locks Seb Pennington (ex-Wilmslow, Macclesfield & Chester) and George Peel, no 8 or flanker Mark Ioane, experienced Lancashire County hooker Jack Wilkinson, other former Tonbridge Juddians, no 8 Maciu Nabogi, and prop Edward Shekete.
The Tynedale match report from early this season described the Stags as “a team studded with talented ball handlers from the South Seas.” These include centre Junior Sa’u, winger Rokotamana Davui and the occasional appearance of Sale Sharks legendary centre Johnny Leota. Other prominent backs are new fly-half Finlay Rogers, (ex-Manchester) and fullback and goal kicker Daniel Holland.