Fylde players are paying the price for making mistakes

They have lost two out of three National Two North fixtures, including a 49-14 hiding at early pacesetters Lymm last weekend.

Fylde’s joint-head coach, Chris Briers, feels many of their problems are self-inflicted as they look to force the play.

He told The Gazette: “Lymm are a dangerous side and, if you give them opportunities, they will take them.

“We just turned over too much ball and then did not set up correctly in transition. The first three tries, we handed to them from our own errors.

“The main problem is not having the ball for long enough. We did put some good phases together at the start of the game but we started to force passes and the mistakes crept in.

“We needed to be patient with the ball because if you try to push it, Lymm are a team that will capitalise.”

Having lost both matches on the road this season, Fylde will welcome a return to the Woodlands tomorrow (3pm).

The visitors are a Chester side newly returned to the league after spending last season in Two West.

Chester have also won one out of three and Briers added: “We don’t really know what to expect. It’s a new team coming into the league with a new coaching staff.

“We can’t take them lightly but the main thing is fixing our errors. They are what’s causing us problems, so if we can tighten up we can do well this season.”

Fylde will assess the fitness of scrum-half Ben Gould and captain Toby Harrison after both were injured at Lymm.

Gould required hospital treatment for an ankle injury, while it is hoped Harrison suffered nothing more than a dead leg.

However, the skipper’s injury highlights what – for Briers – is a growing area of concern in the game.

He said: “We are seeing a lot of people diving at legs in the tackle and it’s becoming more of an issue than high tackling.

“If you are diving at a player’s knee, you can do real damage.

“Because we’ve lowered the tackle height, defenders are getting lower going into the tackle but if you don’t have good technique, you can cause injuries.”

Fylde have welcomed some new faces to training this week as they look to forge closer links with a local Army regiment.

With the support of the Fylde Rugby Community Foundation, the club is offering training and competitive rugby to soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, whose 1st Battalion are based at Weeton Barracks.

The soldiers have been welcomed to take part in first XV training sessions this week, while officers will be guests at the pre-match lunch ahead of the Chester game.

Fylde prop Corey Bowker delivered a forwards session at the barracks and matches have been arranged between the Regiment and other Army teams.

Fylde see the partnership as mutually beneficial and Briers said: “It’s good to have these links and maybe we can get some more players out of it.

“The depth of the playing side is looking good this season. We’re getting 30-plus at training but it’s always good to have extra numbers – and we could uncover a gem in there.”