Now I’d probably imagine that Jim didn’t know much about rugby. After being on the receiving end of an uncharacteristic number of yellow cards (4 in total), the Vandals succeeded with the job in hand on this occasion. Although the foot came off the gas a bit in the second half, it was an amazing team performance. Jamie Griffin and Mulenga Chilufya (I haven’t mentioned his yellow card yet have I?) notched up two tries a piece, Rob Webster covered so much ground that comparisons with N’Golo Kante aren’t all that ridiculous, and Conor Wood made his mark as another returnee to the squad. Massive thanks to Howard Lawrence for refereeing the encounter. It was played in good spirits by both sides, but the ref rightfully erred on the side of caution when putting player safety at the top of the priority list. As the sun came down on a rare mild and sunny day, all 3 Fylde teams posted convincing wins at home. Very importantly to everyone at the club, it was also great to see Ireland coming from behind to beat Wales. Back to the rugby. Next up for the Vandals is a crucial and tasty home game against a well drilled Blackburn outfit. We were lucky to pip them at the end of a tight contest at their place earlier in the season, and it was sensed back then that our next meeting on the 1st March could have a big say in how the league finishes at the end of the season.
SOME NOTABLE EVENTS OF THE GAME
In no particular order:
- Generally regarded as a starter on any other day of the week, extra care should be taken when introducing Jack McCutcheon into a match and encouraging him to ‘make an impact’. He takes that stuff very literally, maybe too literally actually, chipping in with a monster tackle that was as beautiful as it was fearsome. - Scott Davies made an excellent line break in the second half, and while meandering and starting to shift through the gears got downed yards away from the tryline by an admittedly fantastic ankle tap. - Despite his youthful looks and full head of hair, the club legend that is Iain Hollingsworth made his first appearance of the season. Coming on to pull the strings at outhalf, he won’t have been thankful for quickly being called upon to stop a rampaging Garstang player, but did the business. Also, special mention for him taking one of the last conversions with an ode to the olden days of opting to ignore the kicking tee only to proceed in twisting and turning the ball directly into the turf before slotting the extras (unlike Finn Russell in today’s Calcutta Cup game it should be said). - A massive welcome back to playing for Patrick Parr who suffered a nasty sounding injury at the early parts of the season, but showed no signs of missing any match fitness. Teak tough like his old man Rob, he said that he has been keen to get back playing for a number of weeks now, so its great to have him back in the fold. - Also, an added special mention to debutant Darius Campbell. A try on debut is always risky business but hardly a bad thing. A relative newbie to rugby union (seemed to know full well what he was doing in all honesty), he has shown great promise, and hope he settles in well to the area and club.
FYLDE VANDALS TRY SCORERS:
Griffin (x2), Chilufya (x2), Johnston (x1), Sheperd (x1), Campbell (x1), and C. Davies (x1 - we think anyways).
FYLDE VANDALS LINEUP 1. Tristan Assad 16. James Freeman 2. Cian O’Donnell 17. Karl Etherington 3. Tom Fox 18. Jack McCutcheon 4. James Shepherd 19. Oliver Brooke-Bissett 5. Tom Bailey 20. Oliver Smith 6. Nathan Johnston 21. Patrick Parr 7. Rob Webster 22. Scott Davies 8. Jamie Griffin (C) 23. Iain Hollingsworth 9. Jon Green 24. Matthew Goupil 10. Gavin Kelly 25. Aaron Vose 11. Craig Davies 26. Tom Nye 12. Stephan Kuhn 13. Connor Wood 14. Darius Campbell 15. Mulenga Chilufya
CLOSING REMARKS
An American writer and motivational speaker named Jim Rohn once said (not so famously in my mind as I’ve never heard of him) “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments”.
www. fylderugby .co.uk
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