Fylde ran in five tries in the opening half hour to claim a bonus point win. Hoppers were blown away as the visitors scored all five tries in a breath taking 15 minutes of rugby from which Hoppers were unable to recover.
Once again Hoppers showed glimpses of the kind of rugby they can play but did not get out of the blocks quick enough and were a distant second for much of the game. There were some great rugby on display from the home side in the second half; the two tries scored were of the highest quality, one a team performance and the other a fine solo effort, but these moments of inspiration were few and far between.
With glorious sunshine providing great conditions for running rugby both sides looked to move the ball quickly in the opening minutes, but it was the visitor’s superior handling and direction that proved vital.
Alex Hurst got the score board ticking ten minutes into the match when he latched onto a well weighted kick through to touch down, Tom Barlow converted and was perfect with the boot throughout. Fylde doubled there lead after good work from a scrum in the Hoppers 22, when Alistair Atkinson and Laurie Smith combined well to take the visitor’s close and after Craig Aikman’s dart for the line was thwarted, Adam Lewis powered over from close range.
Nick Royle got the first of his two tries after Hoppers presented Fylde with a golden opportunity. Fylde moved the ball well through the hands from left to right and when Royle chipped through he had too much pace for the defence touching down unchallenged.
Jack Ward scored after Hoppers made a mess of a line out, there was more than a suggestion of crossing in the buildup but it went unnoticed by the referee and Royle grabbed his second after Ward interception a pass inside the Fylde 22 and once again the flying winger outpaced the defence to take Fylde in with a 35-0 lead.
Much to their credit Hoppers came out fighting and outscored the visitors in the second half by scoring two tries of their own to a solitary Fylde penalty. Hoppers rung the changes and they paid off as two replacements came off the bench to score.
First Sean Taylor was on hand to finish off a good move after Alex Zavallis-Roebuck and Tom Hughes combined well to break to Fylde line, Roebuck was only stopped by a good tackle but Hoppers recycled well and moved the ball quickly utilising the numbers and the space to put Taylor away in the corner. Tom Ball scored a fantastic solo effort, after picking up from a ruck and slicing his way through the defence with ease. However, it was too little too late but at least gave Hoppers players and fans something to smile about.
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