Fleetwood celebrates a century of rugby union

The club marked a centenary in style at Melbourne Avenue on Saturday, with special events in the clubhouse, two matches and a Christmas party afterwards.

It was on December 13,1924 that Fleetwood's first rugby union team staged a match against Kirkham Grammar School.

Pre-match festivities included a talk by stalwart John Dewhurst. Club chair Caroline Torkington told the Weekly News: “John is a former player who must have been with us for 50 years. It's a club where a lot of the players like to stay involved and help out. The ground staff are all volunteers.”

Caroline took the chair in April, having fulfilled the role for the club's mini-junior section for well over a decade.

The club is thriving, having recovered strongly from the problems posed by the pandemic. “We've set a target of 200 players and currently we have 193 from the age of four up,” added Caroline.

De La Salle edged Saturday's match 17-10, making it back-to-back defeats for Fleetwood. However, those losses came against the top two in Counties 3 adm Lancashire and Cheshire, and the club had previously enjoyed a six-match winning run.

Caroline praised head coach Simon Daws, saying: “Simon has brought a great ethos to the club. He wanted the first and second XV squads to train together and socialise together, with no cliques. Our numbers are getting better in training and we're becoming more consistent in matches.”

Fifth-placed Fleetwood host Dukinfield next on January 11.