Fylde RFC boss stays philosophical after missing out on promotion

Fylde head coach Warren Spragg has taken the ruling on the chin, saying his club would not complain and he urged other clubs not to do so either.

The reason Fylde could feel aggrieved is that the runners-up of National Two South, Tonbridge Juddians, have been promoted.

In a normal season, the second-placed clubs in Two North and South would have staged a play-off to determine which of them went up to National One alongside the champions of both divisions.

Tonbridge were promoted on the basis they had amassed more points than Fylde (eight more from the 25 games played), albeit in an entirely different competition.

Fylde had not expected to be promoted but had not anticipated Tonbridge going up either, believing there was no fair way to choose between the clubs without the play-off being staged.

A diplomatic Spragg told The Gazette: “There’s nothing we can do. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had only relegated the bottom two clubs from National One and promoted only the top team from Two North and Two South.

“It looks like they have taken some gambles and made a lot of predictions but I’m not going to spend too much time worrying about it.

“It’s right that we finish second but we’re still in Two North and it’s over and done with now.

“We’ve contacted Tonbridge to congratulate them and have offered them a pre-season friendly, which would be an unofficial play-off.

“We are not making any complaints and would urge other clubs not to either. It’s a time for looking after our own players and our own clubs.”

The RFU ended the season at all levels below the Premiership on March 20, when almost all Two North clubs had five games to play.

Final tables have been compiled by calculating each team’s average score for home and away matches, and applying those scores to their outstanding fixtures.

It means Fylde, who had 90 points from 25 games, finish the season with 108, while Tonbridge, who had 98 from 25, finish on 117.

The final league placings are largely the same as they were after the final fixtures were played on March 14.

The top nine in Two North are unchanged, with Huddersfield, Tynedale and Sheffield Tigers changing places in positions 10-12.

The bottom three are also unchanged – Otley, Preston Grasshoppers and Scunthorpe – and are all relegated.

Promoted in their place are Midlands Premier champions Bournville, as well as Northern Premier champions Blaydon and runners-up Harrogate.

Hull Ionians come down from National One, replaced at that level by Two North champions Caldy.