D-day looms for Fylde duo

Two more Fylde RFC players, scrum-half Ryan De La Harpe and three-quarter Warren Spragg, are weighing up their futures following the decision by Gareth Rawlings to rejoin Potteries club Longton.
Gareth Rawlings is on his way back to Longton after an injury-blighted stay at the Woodlands.Gareth Rawlings is on his way back to Longton after an injury-blighted stay at the Woodlands.
Gareth Rawlings is on his way back to Longton after an injury-blighted stay at the Woodlands.

Rawlings to rejoin Potteries club Longton.

De La Harpe, a Namibian international, still harbours hopes of playing at Championship level, while Spragg is thinking in terms of combining a playing career at a similar level with a job as a fitness trainer.

Fylde coach Mark Nelson expects a decision by the duo in the next couple of weeks or so. He says the rest of the squad should stay together for the 2013-14 National League One campaign.

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Nelson said: “De La Harpe and Spragg are both weighing up their options.

“De La Harpe fancies the chance of playing in the Championship, which you can’t blame him for, while it is a similar situation with Spragg, who is a fitness conditioner as well as a player.”

Rawlings leaves Fylde after two truncated seasons interrupted by 
suspension and injury.

Nelson said: “To be brutally honest, we finished the season in sixth without Rawlings playings for most of the season. Paul Arnold and Roger Banks did a great job for us in the second row while Rawlings was out, but there were times when we could not rest them and they played through injuries.

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“We will miss being able to call on Rawlings, but he lives in Longton and works in London, so the logistics meant he could not stay. This leaves a major vacancy for a lock forward at the club and I’ll be delighted to hear from anyone who thinks they might fill the bill at National One level.

“National One is a superb division and as well as being in the shop window for representative honours these are experiences to be remembered by all players.”

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