Fylde RFC can step up training but must wait for a league start date

Fylde's last league game was against Luctonians more than five months ago and it remains unclear when they will next play

Fylde great Beaumont backs grassroots game

What is clear is that the National Two North season will not start on September 5, when Fylde were provisionally scheduled to visit newly-promoted Harrogate for their opening league game.

However, the Rugby Football Union advanced to stage three on its ‘roadmap’ for a return to rugby last weekend, allowing community clubs such as Fylde to start training in larger groups with some close contact, though stage six must be reached before full contact matches can be played.

In the interim, the RFU is promoting ‘Ready4Rugby’, a hybrid version of the sport suited to the current stage of its re-emergence.

This is a fast-moving variation on touch rugby which the governing body hopes community clubs will showcase over a national ‘Pitch up for Rugby’ weekend on September 12 and 13.

As for league rugby, an initial block of 15 proposed Saturday fixtures running through to Christmas has been released, which would see Fylde play each of their NL2 North rivals once.

The season could start on any of those weekends but must be underway by October 3 if a full season of 30 fixtures is to be played. A later start date would mean the season being reduced to 22 games, or perhaps even to 15 if play cannot begin before December.

Fylde have not yet begun pre-season training but will do so this month, despite having no start date for their season.

Chairman Dave Young told The Gazette: “We are in the hands of the RFU and the Government, and it’s about waiting for restrictions to ease.

“Going to stage three allows us to move on to something more meaningful but rugby won’t be returning on September 5 and nobody knows yet when it will return.

“We intend to start training this month with all the protocols and Covid-19 measures in place, then hopefully we can start to see some of our social teams and the mini-juniors back.

“There are a lot of people hungry to get back to playing but we will take it cautiously.”

Another question yet to be answered is whether the National League season would start behind closed doors if a return to action is sanctioned before crowds are allowed back into sports stadiums.

Young added: “There’s no advice from the governing body on that but I would point out that we are not in the same position as Premiership clubs.

“Without gate income it becomes quite difficult to play serious rugby and to pay players.”