Hawks will face English National League North side Fylde at Anniesland on 23 August as the final pre season match before the league season opens

Fylde a club with a long history that began with the toss of a coin

Fylde RFC: a brief history
Even many local people do not know the origination of the word 'Fylde'. In fact, it dates back to Saxon times and means 'low lying ground between two Estuaries!' Equally, the story of the Fylde Rugby Club is very interesting as back in July 1919 the Fylde Rugby Club was born literally on the toss of a coin. On July 25th Manchester businessmen met at the Ansdell Institute to discuss the formation of either a rugby or football Club. A coin was tossed and it fell in favour of rugby. From such small beginnings, Fylde grew and after 87 years it is a nationally respected club and a strong brand name in English rugby.

It was in May 1920 that the present Woodlands site, although not in its present state, was used for rugby. In those days the admission was 5d and the first yearly gate receipt amounted to just over £57. In 1922, Harold Brooks was elected President and through his efforts Fylde progressed. He also generously provided the present stand. As far back as 1924 we were represented in the Lancashire team by many famous names such as 'Ham' Neville, who was capped 33 times, and 'Pop' Ogden, who was classed as the greatest kicker of the time. He was the originator of the 'round the corner' style of kicking now used by more or less all kickers worldwide. The Club was strengthened by the merger with Blackpool Old Boys in 1934/5.

Unfortunately, during the 2nd World War, Fylde had to close (as did many clubs) as the Army took over the ground. In 1946 the President, Mr Parkes, welcomed back members from the Forces and the 13 acres of the Woodlands Memorial Ground was purchased (for £7,000!) and named in honour of the members who had given their lives during the six year period.

In the 1950's, the dressing rooms were erected and Pop Ogden was elected President of Lancashire. Arthur Bell and Rothwell Bamber were given life memberships for their work with the Club. Arthur actually served 34 years as the Honorary Secretary.

It was in 1964 that the second England trial was held at Fylde and Sir Laurie Edwards opened not only the new clubhouse extension, but presented the Club with a Rugby Union shield which is still to be seen on the Clubhouse wall. 1969 was Fylde's Jubilee, when they were then fielding six or seven teams every Saturday. In 1970 the North West Counties played the Fijian Tourists at the Woodlands and attracted a record gate of 7,600.

The Club's two most famous players were home grown. Malcolm Phillips, a product of Arnold School, Blackpool, won 25 England caps at centre between 1958 and 1964. He was President of the RFU in 2004/5 and served on the International Rugby Board for a number of years. He continues to give wise counsel to the Club and is actively involved in its administration.

Bill Beaumont was also a one club man having joined Fylde as 17 year old in 1969 and staying with the Club until injury forced him to retire in 1982. His father played for Fylde and he wrote suggesting that his son be given a trial. His first game was in the sixth team as fullback. When they looked at the size of Bill and saw his 6'3" height, he was very quickly made into a forward to play for the first team. He earned 34 times England caps, 21 times as Captain. This included leading the side to the Grand Slam in 1980, as well as skippering the British Lions in South Africa. In retirement he has remained in the public eye as broadcaster and columnist. He is still a regular face at Fylde and much respected throughout the Club. He has also made in major contribution to rugby administration in the UK and internationally as IRB Member, with the RFU and was Manager of the British Lions touring party to New Zealand in 2005. His son Sam is a member of the current 1st team squad at the Club.

In the same era, a young Roger Uttley, subsequently to skipper and then manage England, and Brian Ashton, one of England's leading coaches, also wore the claret and gold. Other more recent internationals associated with Fylde include England wingers Tony Swift and Simon Smith, who were capped in the 1980s after leaving the Club, and locks Steve Bainbridge and Wade Dooley, established internationals who won further caps whilst with Fylde. England 'A' winger Mark Preston, who subsequently starred for Wigan RL, had an amazing strike record scoring 98 tries in 131 appearances. This may be threatened by current winger Nick Royle who has notched 62 tries in 61 games for the Club up to mid-February 2008.

As with so many famous clubs outside the Premiership elite, attendances at home matches have fallen in recent years. Fifteen years or so ago, 2,000 spectators watched local derbys with Preston Grasshoppers on Boxing Day and as many as 5,000 attended the wonderful 1982 game with Bill Beaumont's XV versus Lancashire staged when he unfortunately had to retire from playing rugby. But the Club can still stage big fixtures, illustrated by the 2,500 crowd for the England v Scotland U'19 international in January 2004 and some 1,500 for the Fylde v 'Hoppers league match in January 2006.

Today, the teams still go onto the field wearing the colours of claret, gold and white, which were really the colours of the Huddersfield Old Boys. For some reason, this mystery has not been resolved and the colours have not changed, although the design is now rather different.

Recent seasons have seen Fylde move between National One, Two and most recently Three (North). The Club ran up significant debts in trying to compete in National One in the years 1997-9 and had to sell a small portion of the Woodlands grounds in order to re-establish financial health. With the receipts of the sale, a period of re-development of facilities of all kinds at the Woodlands began in January 2005. The spanking new Clubhouse, housing some 400 people and opened in October 2005, has been a huge success in its first two seasons of operation.
The innovative link up with Blackpool Panthers RL club sees the semi-professional Panthers playing at the Woodlands and sharing the excellent facilities there.

The Club finished in 6th place in National Three (North) in 2003/4, 4th in 2004/5, 7th in 2005/6 & 5th in 2006/7. The Club's rugby management, including Director of Rugby Matt Emmerson, 1st team coaching consultant Mark Nelson (former coach of Sale Sharks, Orrell, Fylde & England Counties, and current Lancashire coach) and 1st team manager John Greenwood is planning a promotion bid back to National Two in the next season or two.

Leading scorers in the 2006/7 season were fly-half John Armstrong with 259 points and winger Nick Royle with a record breaking 35 tries. Royle was elected by his fellow players as 'Player of the Year'. Armstrong was the leading kicker in N3N in 2006/7 and Royle top try scorer. In the 2007/8 season winger Oliver Brennand is the current leading try scorer in the division.
Like so many clubs, Fylde is trying in this professional era to maintain a balance between a members club, based on traditional local community values and structures, and a professional outfit able to compete for players, regionally and nationally. The Club has reasserted itself as a community-oriented, members club, basically amateur, bringing together experienced players in the locality and region, together with nurturing considerable local talent. The recently established Fylde Academy is a major initiative to develop this further. The Club currently fields 10 mini/junior sides, U'17s & U'19s Colts squads, a women's team and five senior sides.

This article was originally posted on 16-Jun-2008, 11:11 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 16-Jun-2008, 22:10.