Hull Ionians 36 v Fylde 22: match report by Simon Taylor
Fylde’s 2025/26 National 2 North campaign closed out with a final day defeat to fourth placed Hull Ionians, the hosts outscoring Fylde 6 tries to 4 in an entertaining game, on a dry, sunny day and firm pitch in the fine surroundings of Brantingham Park. Fylde picked up a try bonus point in securing a sixth-place finish.
With club captain Toby Harrison a long-term absentee, and stand in skipper Dave Fairbrother unavailable, local lad Matt Garrod was proud to be named captain for the day. Mike Walton moved into the number 8 berth, with Ashton Kasam-Sharples rewarded for his notable impact off the bench the week before with a start in the back row. Fylde started well and after two strong carries by Mike Walton and a jackal penalty from Kasam-Sharples created early field position, Garrod picked at the ruck 22 out and with the Ionian guard defence missing, he cantered in for a third minute unconverted try, and Fylde led 5-0.
Although it was a fine day, there was a swirling wind, and Fylde’s first 2 lineouts went astray. This, and a couple of penalties, gave Ionians their first sniff, and they took it on 9 minutes, winger Charlie Kirk the first to a neat chip through, rounding nearer the posts for stand-off Ben Smith to convert and edge Ionians ahead 7-5, a lead they improved on 13 minutes when a lovely delayed pop pass from Smith gave full-back James Watts a clear path to the try line to make it 12-5, conversion missed in the tricky wind.
A pattern started to become clear, Fylde making better use of first phase ball to break from deep but struggling somewhat to then maintain the ball and build phases, whereas Ionians performed the basics better, working their way up field and building pressure. Long range breaks for Fylde from Ben Turner and Adam Lanigan came to nought due to knock-ons or turnovers at the next breakdown letting Ionians off the hook. On 27 minutes Ionians kept the ball long enough in the red zone to force their way over through second-row Joe Makin, Smith’s conversion stretching the lead to 19-5.
Fylde needed to respond, and they did so quickly. 2 minutes later Mike Walton carried hard again punching a hole in midfield, the ball was switched left quickly, and Ben Turner sliced through for the try, unconverted, 19-10. From the kick off no Fylde player competed but fortunately for Fylde Ionians knocked the ball on. From the scrum, winger Leo Gilliland came in from the blind side to make the break, shifted on to Turner who in turn fed Adam Lanigan to finish off an excellent long range try. Slawson’s conversion meant Fylde were well and truly back in it at 19-17 down.
Fylde made changes, bringing Olli Trippier and Max Senior on for James Sutcliffe and Greg Morgan, only to incur a major injury blow on 35 minutes when Mike Walton suffered an arm injury when carrying hard once again. This meant Greg Morgan was back on very quickly. Fylde defended a five-yard scrum well and made another long-range break, Tom Forster kicking ahead. Lanigan looked to be in for his second try only for the ball to evade his grasp in the attempt to ground it. Fylde had a penalty chance to kick for goal and take a narrow lead into the break, but chose to run, another knock-on ending the chance, and the half.
An Achilles heel for Fylde this season has been indifferent starts to the second halves, and it struck again. An error deep put Fylde under pressure, they managed to win a penalty, but then missed touch with it, conceded a penalty themselves, and faced a 5-yard line out. The catch and drive was negated but with Matt Garrod on the wrong side wrapped around the ball carrier like a giant Anaconda, and the referee having warned Fylde just before half time about too many red zone penalties, the outcome was inevitable. The yellow card was brandished, and Fylde’s skipper was cooling his heels for 10 minutes. Just 2 minutes later Ionians made it count, Ionians centre Will Wood forcing his way over to make it 24-17.
Fylde’s woes continued as they kicked the re-start straight out, conceded a penalty at the resulting scrum, and were soon facing another catch and drive line out. A further penalty at the line out allowed Ionians to set up an even closer one, and, their line out working well all day, they converted this into a catch and drive try for hooker Ben Stevenson, unconverted, but a poor 12-minute spell saw Fylde back in a sizeable deficit at 29-17 down.
Once again, Fylde were able to respond quickly when they needed to. On 56 minutes a good midfield clear-out knocked Ionians off their own ruck ball, Fylde spun the ball wide and Leo Gilliland bumped off 2 tackles to force his way down the narrow channel and score Fylde’s fourth try in the right corner. Slawson was unable to convert from wide out, but Fylde were back within a score at 29-22 down.
With more than 20 minutes left Fylde had time to get back on level terms and pinch it, and as always, there was no lack of effort in their attempts to do so. The two Alexes, Gaughan and Carson, came on for some rare 1st XV game time for Ben Gould and Tom Forster, and the meteoric rise of Tristan Assad continued as he replaced Chris Rudkin, showing his willingness to repeatedly carry hard into robust National League defensive traffic. Fylde sought to impose structure and tempo to stretch Ionians and create scoring opportunities. However, as much as they huffed and puffed, Fylde could not keep the ball long enough to rattle Ionians whose defence was solid and not offering up any clear-cut chances. Ionians absorbed the pressure and worked themselves back into the red zone. Desperate last-ditch defence by Fylde saw Ionians knock on over the line on 74 minutes but the respite was brief. From the goal line drop out the ball was given to big number eight Adam Brankley and his bulldozing run from almost halfway saw him scatter the Fylde defence like nine pins as the sea parted and he ran under the posts for a try that was easily converted by Smith. 34-22 with just a few minutes left meant the game, and the season, was well and truly put to bed.
Ionians named Ben Turner as Fylde’s player of the match. Mike Walton, until his unfortunate injury, was in line for that accolade with his robust, destructive and whole-hearted ball carrying, and Ashton Kasam-Sharples showed yet again he is a fine player who is only going to get better. Although the second half of the season has been a struggle at times, with Fylde’s record being won 4 and lost 8 in their last 12 games, their overall tally of 13 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses is a creditable effort given the number of injuries they have had, especially some long terms ones. A top half, sixth place finish, always looking to play an attractive brand of rugby, makes them a team well worth watching week in week out.
Joint head coach Chris Briers commented: ‘It was a strange game, typical of the end of the season in many ways, from both teams; we started really well then went through a patch where we couldn’t get control and let Ionians back into it. We played some of our best rugby all season but then couldn’t back it up to stretch away, so it was a see-saw affair. A few too many errors and penalties gave them catch and drive line-out opportunities, one of their strengths, and allowed them to build a lead and late on we were chasing the game and couldn’t create the comeback scores we needed. After the game we reflected on the season as a whole and the effort that has been put in given we’ve had rough spells with injuries, some long-term ones. Our effort and top six finish show what a good squad we’ve got and a strong culture within the group. As a coaching group and squad, we are optimistic about the future and continuing to help develop a great set of lads and empower them to play an attractive, competitive brand of rugby that we’re all proud to be associated with.”
Fylde: Turner, Gilliland, Clayton (Forster 72), Forster (Carson 56), Lanigan, Slawson, Gould (Gaughan 58), Walton M (Morgan 35), Kasam-Sharples, Morgan (Senior 30/Sutcliffe 75), Garrod (Captain), Walton B, Rudkin (Assad 64), Sutcliffe (Trippier 28), Bowker
Ionians: Watts, Kirk, Wood (Bailey 56), Minikin, Hotchen, Smith, Pocklington, Brankley, Newell, Khalil, Gillingwater, Makin, Clark (Thundercliffe 49), Stephenson (Upton 56), Morton (Edwards 49)
