Fylde seek travel sick cure

Fylde RFC player-coach Paul Arnold is calling on his team to up their game away from the Woodlands.
Turley - try-scorer on SaturdayTurley - try-scorer on Saturday
Turley - try-scorer on Saturday

They have won their last three matches on home soil in National League One, but have failed to make any impact on their travels.

Their three away matches have all ended in defeats – all of them heavy, shipping 44, 57 and 53 points in the process.

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Next up is bottom-of-the-table Blaydon, who have won just one match so far this season and were beaten 71-24 at the hands of Esher on Saturday.

But Arnold, whose side beat Hull Ionians 38-17 at the Woodlands on Saturday, says he is sure Blaydon will not be easy meat.

He said: “After the win over Hull Ionians on Saturday, we have to back it up with an away performance.

“Blaydon are obviously struggling this season, but it is a tough place to go.

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“We know they will have a set-piece; they will put us under pressure at the scrum and line-out and we will have to try and make sure we are up to the mark.”

Fylde have made several changes in personnel during the close season and Arnold believes that the new men are beginning to blend in.

He said: “The new signings are getting to grips with how we play.

“I was happy with the way we performed against Hull Ionians and happy with the new signings as well.

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“Scott Armstrong and Matt Lamprey both had great games and so did two of our other new players George Nott and Jack Turley.

“At times we played some really good stuff.

“We did have a blip for a period but overall we kept the ball well and went through the phases.

“When we are accurate and keep hold of the ball, that’s when we are going to cause teams problems.

“Having players back in the team like Evan Stewart and Jack (Turley) made a massive difference.”

Arnold said there was still room for improvement.

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“We still have something to work on when it comes to penalties and the set-pieces.

“We have been decent all season and even in the two we lost we could have won them against Blackheath and Birmingham-Moseley.

Winger Oli Brennand is set to be out for eight weeks with a hamstring strain.

Fylde will be monitoring the fitness of prop forward Simon Griffiths, who suffered an injury to his quadriceps in the win over Hull Ionians.

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Arnold said: “Simon got a bang on his quad. Hopefully, it won’t be too bad.”

Arnold could have an extra selection option soon.

Warren Spragg, now an important part of the Fylde coaching staff, is hoping to be back in action some time next month. He is close to a return after an operation on pectoral muscle.