Fylde A 24

Saracens 26

Otley Saracens had to make a number of late changes again due to flu and injuries and took some time to settle.

Fylde took an early lead with an unconverted try but Otley hit back and following pressure in the home 22 Charles Du Pre darted through to score, Chris Quinn adding the conversion.

The game became very scrappy as both sides struggled for supremacy and Fylde took advantage of a loose ball to score and regain the lead which was extended when they forced their way over from close in and added the conversion.

Saracens were playing with a lot of spirit with Neil Hargreaves using his experience to good effect and when Fylde collapsed the scrum as Otley went for a pushover try the referee had no hesitation in awarded a penalty try which Chris Quinn converted to make it 14-17 at half-time.

Otley started to gain the upper hand on the restart and good handling by the backs and Andy Eastham raced through to score, Chris Quinn converting. Just when it looked as though Saracens had the game sown up they lost Matt Lonsdale with an ankle injury and Fylde set up a strong finish with a converted try but Saracens held out for a narrow victory to retain their third position in the Second XV merit table.

The front row played well with Mike Peel playing his first game of the season at hooker standing the pace well. Charles Du Pre and Chris Quinn combined well at half back and Jonathan Bennett and Andy Eastham put in some good defensive work.

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