Fylde RFC ready for "massive test" against Hull Ionians after flying start to year

While second-placed Fylde totalled 20 tries against Harrogate this season with last weekend’s 52-0 win over the Pennines, their next opponents Hull Ionians had an eighth straight victory in National Two North by defeating Wharfedale 37-24.

Unbeaten leaders Sedgley Park may be the only side in the division to have enjoyed a better first half to their season than Fylde, though Ionians have not lost for three-and-a-half months and arrive for the 3pm Woodlands clash just five points behind their hosts in third.

Fylde’s joint-head coach Alex Loney told The Gazette: “The league table does not lie. Sedgley are deservedly top but Hull Ionians deserve to be up there too, having only lost to Sedge and ourselves.

“They are a top team who gave us a really tough game at their ground and we were ecstatic to get five points (winning 34-31 in September).

“It’s a massive test and we are confident of rising to the challenge. If we get the performance right, it comes down to the fine margins and we need to get on top in the tight moments.”

Loney’s side blew away the cobwebs emphatically, beating second-bottom Harrogate 52-0 after a five-week break.

“We managed to put in a solid performance,” added Loney. “It’s a tough place to go in terms of the pitch and the time of year.

“We referenced last year, when we had a comfortable home win over Harrogate but found it difficult away.

“You have to be patient and keep your error-count low. We did that and scored some really nice tries.

“We controlled the game from the first whistle and getting the zero against was really pleasing because we were under the pump at the end and defended our line for five or 10 minutes.”

Fylde gave a tryscoring debut to Cole Potts at scrum-half, resisting any urge to restore winger Adam Lanigan to that role in the ongoing absence of Matt Sturgess.

Loney explained: “We got hold of Cole when he became available before Christmas because we wanted to be secure in our scrum-half options as injury will keep Matt out.

“Cole is a player Chris (Briers) and I have coached in the past and it was a competent debut. We wouldn’t expect everything to be perfect but he scored a nice try and we’re happy with the options we have at scrum-half.

“Ben Gould made his debut in the previous game and is competing with Cole. We see Adam continuing on the wing for the rest of the season. We value all our players and Adam didn’t get the minutes last season.

“He has qualities and we see him exploiting those on the wing. He was phenomenal on Saturday and very threatening with the ball.”

As for the second half of the season, Loney says Fylde will remain ambitious without putting themselves under undue pressure.

“There is no burning ambition that says we must finish top,” he stated.

“That hasn’t been dictated to us by the club, or to the players by us, but we are confident that we are a good team. We think we are good enough to compete and we want to see what we can achieve.

“If we get everything right and get some big results, then we could finish top. The club would roll with that and enjoy playing at a higher level next season.

“There is a lot of rugby to be played but we are more pleased with the consistency this season.

“We had a period before Christmas last season (losing two of 2021’s final four games), which brought us out of the mix. This time the players are really ambitious to compete at the top end.”