18/10/2026
FACE IT, FIGHT IT, FINISH IT
ROCHDALE 2ND XV 29 : 40 FYLDE VANDALS (3RD XV)
Sponsored by Team Sponsor Inn on the Prom. & Player Sponsor Mowerpower Limited
In the days, and even hours, leading up to this game we kinda realised that we’ll need to roll with the punches. As Mike Tyson once softly mumbled “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”, and our version of that was dealing with a lot of missing players, and even some more great clubmen playing up for our 2nd team last minute – a massive thanks to them, it’s a selfless task generally, but we are fully aware that they played a part in helping our match go ahead as planned as well. We all owe ye guys.
With Tom Bailey away and unavailable, we called on his body double Rob Wester to make a long-awaited return to action. We dusted ourselves off and hit the lovely winding roads onto Rochdale to come face to face with our opponents for the latest bout.
As the game got underway, the Vandals used the jab smartly, piercing holes in the home sides defence, and when the opportunity came, inspired by the route to the grounds, Eman Okelola took a winding route to crash over for the first score of the games. 0-7.
Down but not out, Rochdale struck a blow of their own, but after a missed conversion, the Vandals were lucky to retain a short lead. 5-7.
That sequence repeated itself with both sides trading tries of their own, the difference being the boot of Josh Craig (even converting after his own try). 10-14.
That was it for quite a bit of the first half, or at least it would have been great if it was for us. Rochdale were a slick outfit and put us to the sword before half time. Throwing a new combo which consisted of a try and conversation this time.
HALF TIME 17-14
The break probably came at a good time for the Vandals. The home side were enjoying some supremacy around certain areas of the park, and were punishing our mistakes. Despite being 3 tries to 2 down, the boot of Josh Craig kept us in with a shout still.
Our wise cornermen of David Reed and Iain Hollingsworth tweaked our defence with clear instruction during this time. You sometimes wonder if the message gets through, and we are a fairly unruly bunch so you just never know, but the messaging seemed to work.
The ever energetic Gregor Aitken crashed over to get us back on top on the scorecards. 17-19.
To add to the importance of this game, it was a double header being a joined league and cup match. That wasn’t lost on us.
Speaking of doubles, Fylde lost a man to the sin bin, mainly for team repeat infringements, and to make things worse Rochdale scored again to take the match-up by the scruff of the neck. 22-19.
A man down, and trailing by 3-points, it wasn’t looking good. Not time to throw the towel in, but after putting up a good fight, the numbers were numbering against us now.
Or that’s what it felt like at the time anyways.
I think it was around then that Vandals ho**er Jack Faulkner made a break down the blindside, and after a few recycles, the athletic Ryan Thornhill restored our lead. 22-26.
Back up to a full complement and feeling in good spirits, the Vandals poked more holes through the midfield through powerful centre partnership of Stevie Durrant and Jack McCutcheon, massive holes in fact.
Jamie Griffin managed to bundle over to claim a try of his own, putting some breathing space between the sides. 22-33.
Everything was going to plan…. keyword ‘was’….
Rochdale trundled up the pitch, and crashed over for another try, this time with the extras added. 29-33.
The Vandals the lost a man for the remainder of the match after a bit of grappling that the Gracie dynasty would be nodding at approval at, but on this occasion the ref didn’t quite see it as being appropriate in this context, neither did the now energetic and vociferous home crowd.
Clinging to a 4-point lead, a man down, even the most optimistic would be hard pressed to foresee the Vandals clinging on in a rope-a-dope fashion with over 15-mins left on the clock.
With tempers flowing over and an ever growing crowd on the sidelines, the odds were stacking against us. Rochdale were fired up and raring to go back into battle.
The away side again weathered the storm, and while making some errors and coughing up possession, were galvanised and stayed calm… for a change.
With the beefed up Jon Green, now playing in the forwards, he managed to get an offload away after a strong carry to assist Cian O’Donnell to get on the scoresheet. 29-40.
Rochdale were a strong well drilled side, with a few characters in their own ranks, and weren’t going to lie down. Time was still on their side, but needing 2-scores to retake the lead proved a bridge too far and spilled the ball on numerous occasions to the Vandals delight.
FULL TIME 29-40
It was a well fought win. One of those that we celebrated wildly in the aftermath, and that’s not all that often to be honest. A win away against a strong Rochdale side really meant a lot to us, and celebrations were going tom be kicking off and continuing for some time afterwards.
Top marks to great opponents, we might have snuck home on the scoreboard today, but this Rochdale side are going to be hard to beat in this league.
The barnstorming Jack McCutcheon was awarded the MOTM in the Rochdale clubhouse post match from our opponents, and rightfully so. I’ve tried to describe it before in match reports, and probably failed to do the man justice, but momentarily stopping him in his tracks (which is hard enough as it is) isn’t good enough. He just keeps going regardless, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator.
The game was superbly refereed as well, I didn’t catch his name, but he was from Eccles Rugby Club and did a super job to avoid tempers boiling over in a hotly contested battle, but also in managing the game as a whole.
As for the Vandals, having played a game less than most other teams in the league, we remain the only unbeaten side (I’d quote the orange faced fella saying ‘stop the count’ but we are currently sitting 4th on the table). We are away next week to take on Anselmians 2nd XV, who only a few seasons ago were playing in the Premier Division, so will be another strong side.
