Fylde welcome Beverley to the Woodlands for the first time on Saturday (ko 15.00) in their last home game of a very eventful season, sponsored by leading local retailer JR Taylor.
It's likely to be the first and last game between the clubs at the Woodlands for a while as the East Yorkshire club is bottom of National Three (North) and drops back to the North One division in 2008/9.
Fylde are still chasing the promotion play-off place and, on a special day for the Club with a large number of former players & VIPs gracing the Woodlands (including England Coach Brian Ashton), will be desperate for a decisive win and maximum league points as well as a large crowd to cheer them on.
At the same time they will hope that Rugby Lions can do them a favour by stretching rivals Darlington Mowden Park at Yiewsley Drive.
Fylde have gone seven league games without defeat in a fine run of late season form.
Fylde have played Bev twice in two seasons already. Apart from their rather lucky and oh so narrow 27-26 win at Beaver Park in December (thanks to a last minute drop goal by John Armstrong), the Lancastrians made the same journey a year earlier in an EDF Trophy game and got their noses bloodied 7-10 by a very competitive Beverley squad who were in North One at that time.
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The Beavers duly won promotion to the National Leagues for the first time in their history in the 2006/7 season but have struggled through most of this campaign at the higher level.
Reinforcements arrived from New Zealand in mid-September and their augmented squad kick started their campaign with an excellent win at Darlington Mowden Park and then a home victory over Bradford & Bingley.
But that was about the high point of a season in which, as a club, they've learnt a lot about national league rugby.
They also have plans to move away from their existing ground to another area of the town where they can provide more pitches and facilities.
However, local planners haven't been too sympathetic and it's not clear where the club now is on this initiative.
Director of rugby Graham Hodgson leads the rugby management at the Club along with Kiwi player/coach and fly-half Anthony Posa who is employed to undertake rugby development in the Beverley area.
He's an experienced Croatian international and has helped set up numerous links between Beverley and the Balkan country.
Flanker Dave Worrall is perhaps their most outstanding player.
He was a Beverley Colt but joined Oldham RUFC when he was transferred to Manchester Police.
He moved back in 2005 and has been a fixture in their squad ever since.
Ex-Malton No 8 James McKay has also been a reliable presence in a combative backrow.
Joining Kiwi Posa has been a large contingent of his countrymen including new recruits this season, lock Patrick Pole (Waikato NPC) and flanker or centre Matt Tamali'i (ex-Wellington).
They joined centres Jade Gardner (ex-Wellington Maori Colts and Johnsonville) & Richie Henderson, & prop Karl Smith (ex-Johnsonville).
Gardner is their top try scorer to date with nine. NZ Lock or flanker Fraley Hopa has also been very influential at Beaver Park in recent seasons but moved on quite quickly this season, as has Patrick Pole who is now with Yorkshire rivals Bradford & Bingley.
But in the 2nd half of the season they recruited powerful no 8 (and former Canterbury NZ player) Junior Tupai who was previously player/coach at Scarborough to do a similar job at Beaver Park.
Goal kicking has most often been the responsibility of young Durham University fullback Phil Du Boulay who has 79 points but he has shared this with scrum-half Ian Archibald.
It's expected that Fylde's skipper for the day will be Richard Kenyon who's last home match this will be following his decision to retire to concentrate on his family business interests.
This will be his 195th 1st team appearance.
Good luck and many thanks from everyone at the Club Richard! You've been a credit to the Club as well as a great rugby talent.
Apart from fullback Mike Waywell's rib problems there are few other injury worries in the squad.
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