1st XV Playing records
2018/19: P26 W3 D2 L21 Pts F 413 A 1081 League Pts: 26
2017/18: P24 W20 D0 L4 Pts F 1032 A 404 League Pts: 100
Hindsight is a wonderful gift but realistically the Vale of Lune’s season in North Premier was over, to all intents and purposes, by the end of October after they had failed to win one of their opening eight games but had managed a draw at Lymm, their match point’s total stood at a meagre five and they were bottom of the table.
Unfortunately the omens were not in Vale’s favour because only rarely does a club escape the sharp blade of Madame Guillotine when they are bracketed in the bottom three at the end of the second month with such a paltry return and so it came to pass that the tumbrils rolled for the Vale, after they had topped North One West in a record breaking 2017/18 season.
The writing was on the wall for the Vale when, after an inconclusive pre-season, they travelled to Blaydon with a squad shorn of a host of players who had helped to secure promotion, and were hammered 92-12. At the time this was their heaviest ever league defeat, worse was to follow however, because in February when they visited Hull they were thrashed, 97-0.
A major factor in coping with the opening salvos of that arrowed their way in Vale’s direction was their inability to field a settled side of experienced players and by the end of October, when they ended their run of defeats at Lymm in a thirty eight all draw, they had used thirty five players of which five were debutants.
Regular players from the previous season were in short supply in the opening eight games and it was rarely they were included in the squad on regular basis; if one was playing others were missing causing a restructuring of the side, in particular in the back division, from game to game. Threequarters Jonty Higgin and Olly Jacques played in six, Jordan Dorrington and Fergus Owens and forward Sam Wallbank featured in five, while backs, Ben Dorrington, Jack Turton and Damon Hall in only three. Without players of such calibre, who were all seasoned campaigners, the Vale struggled, not only for consistency, but confidence.
The magic of the previous season had disappeared well before Christmas, it briefly returned in a false dawn of hope and expectation in January but by the end of the month Alnwick had pricked the balloon of optimism to further shorten the odds on relegation. Three weeks later a home defeat inflicted by fellow strugglers Lymm shackled the Vale firmly to the unforgiving chains of relegation.
Selection was to become a perennial problem due in the main to unavailability because of work commitments and injury, with 50 players making first team appearances, included in this total were 14 on debut.
Andy Powers, “Mr Versatile,” an all action player, equally at home in the front row, back row or threequarters, made 24 appearances. Wing forward, Jack Ayrton logged 23, threequarter Chris Ramwell 22, and another of the backs, Fergus Owens finished on 21 as did prop Ross Pillow, with forward Sam Wallbank notching up 20.
These six players naturally formed the backbone of the squad plus another ten who made between thirteen and nineteen appearances but the problem was that this group of experienced players were not available on a regular basis.
Logic suggests that a more settled side would have made quite a difference but it was not to be, as players were pitch forked into the side from the seconds, thirds and colts. It was a scatter gun approach that proved to be unsustainable at the level the Vale were playing at with alas, the inevitable outcome. However, amidst all the turmoil, many of these new faces played to the very limits of their ability and in some cases exceeded it.
A number of players took the eyes of the faithful on the East Terrace none more so that South African Ruan Fourie who in his fifteen games grew in stature in every outing, be it in the back row or at lock, where his strong tackling and powerful running were his trademarks, unfortunately he returned home in February.
Following the retirement of front row forward Jack Ferguson problems emerged prop wise. Mike Bradshaw made 12 appearances before departing for Kendal, but Steve Tagg proved to be an admirable replacement until he picked up an injury. James Hesketh did a 6 game stint at the coal face before having an operation on a shoulder, and another import To’i Aualitia, played 8 times before hopping over the border to Yorkshire. A huge burden then fell on the broad shoulders of the big hearted Joe Stevens, who made 8 appearances full of total commitment and was punching well above his weight.
Also in the pack, lock or back row forward James Robinson, made 18 appearances, and established himself as an intelligent, fit, powerful player who was not afraid to go where angels fear to tread. Another forward in a similar mould is Luke Ford who marked his return to the Vale with a series of impressive contributions in his 6 outings. Unfortunately lock Harry Fellows missed the last seven games with a neck injury, another huge loss because of the influence he exerted on those around him.
Many of the forwards were interchangeable and so were the backs but the constant swapping and changing the in line up, regardless of the pedigree of some players, was not a satisfactory way to progress at Level 5.
If they were all available then the threequarters largely picked themselves but because it very rarely happened they were opportunities for other players to toss their hat into the ring. One who took full advantage was winger Ethan Robertson, who made his debut at Alnwick, a powerful runner, strong in the tackle and an able reader of the game. Both winger Jordan Fern and fly half Alex Briggs were thrown into the mayhem that unfolded and to their credit they battled stoically in some desperate pressure cooker situations, as did a number of young players who were thrust into an alien environment.
Some personal milestones were passed by Fraser Spavin, Damon Hall and Chris Ramwell, with 50 each. The century mark was reached by Jack Ayrton, Ben Dorrington and Billy Swarbrick, with Fergus Owens going over 150.
The meagre yield of points comprised 62 tries, 38 conversions and 9 penalties. Damon Hall from his 16 appearances was the leading point’s scorer with 95; 7 tries, 21 conversions and 6 penalty goals. Fergus Owens, who posted the only try hat trick of the campaign, and Chris Ramwell were joint leading try scorers with 8 each.
During the season a number of records were broken but of the wrong type including the heaviest home league defeat inflicted by Blaydon, 80-15, while over at Hull the hosts subjected the Vale to their greatest ever league loss, 97-0.
The hammer blows descended with an unrelenting beat following the home defeat by Alnwick and in the closing eight games 552 points were plundered with relative ease by Vale’s opponents. By then the goblins were surging out of the woodwork and creating chaos at every turn.
It has been difficult to unearth many positives from the slag heap of relegation but a few little nuggets did emerge. The manner of the first win against Billingham brought a degree of promise as did the home performances against Kendal and Ilkley and before the injury to Kirkby Lonsdale’s Cameron Dale which caused the home game to be abandoned in September when the Vale were leading 15-5, they appeared to have put their three opening defeats momentarily behind them.
In two games the Vale held half time leads, at home against Harrogate, 35-17, but eventually losing 45-38. It was a similar scenario over at Sandal in their next outing; the Vale turned round leading 19-15, but still ended up on the losing side, going down, 50-24.
Over at Lymm the Vale produced a spirited performance to claw their way to a 38 all draw. Wirral showed their experience at Level 5 by managing to defend their one point lead against a battling Vale at Powderhouse Lane, to win 13-12. The other draw was at Wilmslow, 7-7 in dire encounter in the final game of the year.
Of course Vale have had more than a nodding acquaintance with the vixen of relegation. It happened in the 1990/91, 1991/92, 1993/94, 2004/05 and 2007/08 seasons and such situations bring in their wake a level of collateral damage. Already a number of changes in personnel have surfaced, with rumours of others taking flight, but the appointment of a new coach has generated plenty of interest.
But as always after such a tempestuous season the challenges that lurk in the background will affect the whole club and pressures will build long before a ball is passed in anger. The next four months will fly by before the leagues resume, in the meantime the Vale of Lune will come under a very critical microscope, not only at home but also from their opponents who will be probing for any physical or mental baggage that might still be lurking in the shadows in the opening exchanges of a new season. One burning question still remains, how long will it take The Phoenix rise again?
At the end of such a traumatic season players and supporters could well be advised to give the Edvard Munch exhibition entitled “Love and Angst,” currently being held at the British Museum, a miss, which one daily newspaper described as “darkly entrancing.” It might be more soothing to take a stroll along Morecambe’s Promenade and enjoy the sunset and perhaps a selfie with Eric and Ernie, or visit the tranquillity of Williamson Park to help eradicate the images that came to the fore in a Hammer House Horror called “2018/2019,” where Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Jack Nicholson and Anthony Hopkins, et al, were grimacing, rolling their eyeballs, leering, gnashing their teeth, and lurking menacingly in every dead ball area. Not so much a blockbuster more a shockbuster!