Fylde RFC head coach’s vote of confidence for Woodlands squad
Alex Loney feels there is “plenty to be proud of” at the end of a difficult National Two North season, after his Fylde RFC players concluded their home campaign with a 31-24 win over Rossendale.
Fylde overturned last Saturday’s 24-7 deficit with four unanswered tries for a third successive Woodlands win and a fourth in their last five matches.
Joint-head coach Loney told The Gazette: “Fair play to Rossendale but we were disappointed with our first-half performance.
“We were too error-prone to put them under any sort of pressure, but the lads showed a good mental capacity to keep going when the game could have got away from us.
“We came to life, became more accurate, forced some yellow cards and started to dominate.
“There was some nice flow to our rugby and we’re really happy to win the last game at home.”
With just this Saturday’s visit to Hull Ionians (3pm) remaining for Fylde, Loney reflects positively on the season.
He added: “We could have finished higher up the table.
“Injuries were a factor, there were close games we could have won and we got on a bad run in the New Year.
“We haven’t lost that many (nine out of 25) and there’s plenty to be proud of.
“We’ve had to use a lot of players and the young ones can be massively proud.
“The players who joined this season made an impact and we’ve done all the business to keep the squad intact for next season, when we’ll also have some exciting new players.
“It’s (champions) Sheffield’s season. They have depth, a nice mix of youth and experience and have been almost faultless (losing only once) – but we aren’t quite at the point of sitting in the armchair and dissecting the season just yet.”
First comes the trip to Ionians, who are out of Fylde’s reach in fourth, though overtaking Darlington Mowden Park remains a possibility.
Loney added: “We try to approach every game with a real intent and focus.
“Even when a game isn’t of great importance in terms of the league, we want to make sure it has an edge and intensity.
“Last Saturday was the game we needed because Rossendale are in a relegation battle and we knew they would put in a strong performance.
“We’ll try to use the energy from last week to sign off for the season as well as possible, because if you perform poorly in the final game you have to wait a long time to address it.”
Some of the Fylde players will be hoping to return to Ionians with Loney and Lancashire three weeks later for the second Roses clash in the Bill Beaumont County Championship.
The first Lancashire-Yorkshire match takes place at Fylde on May 9, with the aggregate winners progressing to the Twickenham final.
“We have been working tirelessly in the background,” said Red Rose head coach Loney.
“We meet up this week, we’ll train at Fylde and at Sedgley Park, and all being well we’ll get a really good team out.
“I’ve never been involved in this sort of format. It will be tough but we’re in it because we want to get to the final.”