THE previous week Wharfedale had been heading for Reading; on this occasion they were hoping to be flying against Fylde writes Ian Douglass.

The visitors arrived at a sun-soaked Avenue with the contours of the Dales backdrop crisply delineated at their majestic best - but Fylde could have been in little doubt that this was to be a tough test.

Having defeated Wharfedale at home by a narrow margin, they were up against a side looking for a seventh successive win, a run which has seen them soar up the table and into promotion contention.

Fylde's morale-boosting, free-scoring victory over strugglers Blackheath the previous week and the knowledge that Wharfedale had never beaten them in the league meant they travelled with resolve and it was clear from the outset that they had prepared well for the game.

Perhaps coach Mark Nelson, who spent a short time as a student teacher at the rugby nursery of Ermysted's Grammar School, had developed an instinct for what makes the Dalesmen tick.

With the slope in their favour, Wharfedale were soon exerting territorial pressure. A feature of this period was Fylde's offensive defence. Their backs were up very quickly and bent on making some big hit tackles.

They were especially eager to target Andy Hodgson, clearly identified as a potent strike force.

They were prepared to persist with this tactic and were content to run the risk of offside with the payoff of unsettling Wharfedale.

Some secure lineout ball and a determination to repulse the Wharfedale security of the driven maul from the lineout also greatly assisted their cause. At times they were teetering on the brink and were mightily relieved to escape from river corner.

Fylde's flyhalf Richard Kenyon kept a clean head to drill metre-hungry punts to the stand touchline and prominent in frustrating Wharfedale charges was No 8 Gareth Russell.

In a period when for many clubs players are birds of passage it is interesting that he is the only Fylde player to have featured in the last league fixture back in 1996, a stabilising factor in Fylde's yo-yo years.

Richard Lancaster, in the Wharfedale front row, had also appeared in Fylde colours in that fixture before exchanging flatlands for uplands.

In many ways the Greens flattered to deceive in the first half. There was some good individual play but also pattern and flow was prevented by errors, partly self-inflicted and sometimes caused by the bustling pressure of the opponents.

Hodgson was never completely shackled and would have a say before the end of the day.

Paul Evans had another fine match for Wharfedale, leaping high to take a number of throws while his lineout partner David Lister, a little quiet of late, experienced a glorious renaissance. When his lineout game is going well he is emancipated for roving around the park and this he did with all the unbridled freedom of a Colorado mustang.

Effective though Fylde's tactics had been, it was inevitable that they had to crack. A string of penalties allowed Buckroyd's boot to pin them in the corners. A scrum produced a try for Charlie Vyvyan, who shot over like a Cornish tin miner down a level. Mounsey's conversion made it 7-0.

Fylde mounted some pressure in riposte and a penalty, plus some extra yards for backchat allowed Nick Booth to slot over a penalty, 7-3.

Back came Wharfedale and when Buckroyd was taken out after a good drive and chip ahead, Mounsey stepped up to kick the penalty and make it 10-3 at halftime.

The home display was more convincing in the second half. Steadier approach play meant the errors and lack of cohesion of the first period were still there, but subordinate to the growing control over the game which the Greens began to mount.

Buckroyd drove hard down the middle and soon after came the crucial score, fittingly from Hodgson. He latched on to a short pass from Smith, hurdling over a tangle of bodies into the welcoming green of the in-goal area.

Hodgson has now scored in five consecutive matches to equal the club record.

Mounsey added the conversion and was later to consolidate Wharfedale's lead with two further penalties. He is now kicking with unerring accuracy.

Interspersed in these scores, Fylde produced some anxious moments in counter-attack, a threat arrested by some good back-tracking defence. Neil Heseltine was especially solid, pumping some lengthy touch finders.

Fylde's irritation bubbled over at times, with the peccadilloes in the front row especially aroused. There was little surprise when a fellow was shown a yellow for an Anglo-Saxon bellow.

After 70 minutes Daniel Harrison and Sam Allen came on to pep up the final exchanges and in the end the Wharfedale victory was as comfortable as it was complete, although far short of a classic.

Wharfedale: Davies, Mounsey, Hodgson, D Whitfield, B Whitfield; Heseltine, Smith Harrison, 70); Ingram (Lancaster, 50), Lawn, Dickinson, Lister, Evans, Buckroyd (Allen, 70), Verity, Vyvyan.

Fylde: Schuster, Booth, Devlin, Irving, Wyre; Kenyon, Condon;, Clark, Scott, Hansen, Whitehead, Dreyer, O'Grady, Lavin, Russell.

o This week there is no fixture, but rugby fans may wish to see the Foresters in action, featuring many well known first team faces (2.15 kick off).

They are at home to Doncaster in the Merit table, bidding to avenge an 18-13 defeat away in December.

The Foresters have a tough fixture list and although they have now lost five games, including Saturday by 31-26 at Fylde, they have all been by slender margins - such as 35-34 against Orrell.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.