Fylde RFC boss Alex Loney welcomes break in season

The Woodlands club go into the break fourth in National Two North, having won seven of their opening nine games.

The National Leagues traditionally play weekly matches from early September through to Christmas but the Rugby Football Union have introduced the Saturday off in November in the interests of player welfare.

It may disrupt Fylde’s momentum after back-to-back wins but joint head-coach Alex Loney (right) is in favour of the break.

He told The Gazette: “Overall we are happy with it. We’ve played nine games and put a tremendous amount of effort in. Yes, there is a danger of losing momentum but I think it’s better to freshen up. Without a break, players would normally be out on their feet by Christmas.

“We also have injuries, in addition to the usual knocks and bangs, and after a two-week break we should have everyone back apart from Connor Wilkinson.

“That would give Chris Briers and I some selection headaches. We’ve already rotated the squad quite a bit – a few lads have had their first taste of the first-team and want more – so it will be nice to have a full squad.

“We haven’t been affected by Covid, but the break also gives those clubs who have had to postpone games a chance to catch-up.”

Fylde didn’t give their most fluent performance at Blaydon but Loney was satisfied to take maximum points at a ground where Fylde had won only one of their previous 10 league games.

He added: “After a big win the week before (73-7 against Bournville) there was a worry about taking our eye of the ball and credit to Blaydon –they really came at us hard, posed loads of challenges and put pressure on us. We did get it together and scored some nice tries but there were a few too many errors.”

Fylde return to action at Sheffield Tigers a week tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here