Fylde RFC 41 Otley 18: Consecutive wins at the Woodlands

The hosts raced into a 28-10 lead at the break with two tries each from Ben Gregory and Sam Carleton before the game lost its free-flowing style in the second half, with Otley calling scrum after scrum.

Greg Smith also kept up his fine form from the tee with a 100 per cent record for the second home game running, converting all seven of his kicks for a tally of 16 points.

Fylde, who welcomed back Sam Stott and Scott Rawlings after injury, made a fast start with Sam Carleton touching down and Smith converting for a 7-0 lead after three minutes.

Otley reduced the deficit through a penalty from Gavin Stead, who missed another attempt on 10 minutes before both sides shared possession in the entertaining quarter-hour that followed.

Despite a couple of wonderful 50-22s from the two teams, neither were able to break through until Fylde finally went over again.

The hosts’ second try of the afternoon came in the 27th minute as Gregory bundled himself over the line to extend their lead with Smith’s conversion making it 14-3.

Otley rallied with Valu Tane Bentley making a brilliant try-saving tackle on the half-hour mark as George Bowen threatened to go under the posts.

It was all in vain as Otley kept hold of the ball and swung it out wide to Sam Taylor, who dotted down for their first try of the match with Stead brilliantly converting.

Fylde responded almost instantly as, following a Smith 50-22, the resulting lineout saw Gregory bag his second try of the afternoon from a driving maul and Smith converting from out wide.

They weren’t done yet as Tom Forster, Jordan Dorrington and Sam Carleton all combined for the latter to score in the corner before the break.

Joe Rowntree’s penalty gave Otley the first points of the second half, only to be cancelled out by Smith’s successful kick.

Although Fylde dominated the lineout, their scrummage came under increasing pressure from an aggressive Otley pack.

The following 15 minutes saw them choose scrum after scrum in Fylde’s 22, eventually leading to a try for Taylor which left Fylde 31-18 ahead.

Smith, who ran the show for Fylde, converted another penalty in the 65th minute before they completed the scoring five minutes from time.

Dorrington brilliantly caught Smith’s crossfield kick and dived in at the corner before Smith again added the conversion.

There should have been a further try as Gregory, in line for a second hat-trick of the season, dropped Tom Carleton’s pass with the line gaping.

It didn’t matter however as Fylde gained a bonus-point win and moved up to sixth place in the table as a consequence.

Fylde RFC: T Carleton, Dorrington, Forster, Stott, S Carleton, Smith, Wootton, Bowker, Gregory, Altham, Burrow, Garrod, Hall-Lyon, Bentley, Harrison. Replacements: Brooks, Williamson, Raymont, Lanigan, Rawlings.

Otley: Taylor, Martin, Stead, Holmes, Wells, Crossland, Eaton, Mudd, Gibson, Moss, Malthouse, Jackson, Fontaine, Hodge, Waddington. Replacements: John-Morris, Nicholls, Bowen, Rowntree, Parnell.