Rugby at this level is often a game of inches, but on Saturday, it was a battle of wills. With promotion on the line for both teams, Fleetwood entered the home pitch for one final, bloody-minded shift. This was a battle in every sense of the word, an entertaining, sometimes chaotic superb advertisement for amateur Rugby.

The task easy on paper, tough in reality; At the start of the day the league table was as follows

1st Bury 76 points
2nd Orrell 73 points
3rd Fleetwood 72 points

For promotion Fleetwood needed to score 4 tries, restrict Bury to 3 tries or less, and beat Bury by more than 7 points. Conversely Bury needed a single point to guarantee promotion at the expense of Fleetwood due to a superior points difference. Orrell had to get a bonus point win to have any chance of winning the league and had to win for promotion.

The biggest crowd since the early 90s Twickenham run was present at Melbourne Avenue with at least 500 people in attendance, which we still cannot quite believe, and this truly helped the home team. The First Team walked out onto the pitch with our current Under 6s which was a fantastic sight with the next generation and current generation hand in hand, then it was game time.

Fleetwood had beaten Bury away twice so far this season in the cup and the league, but the team that arrived at Melbourne Avenue was much better than the previous two games and this was made evident after the first couple of minutes. Bury started with high intensity taking the game to Fleetwood, running hard but being hit with resilient tough defence from Fleetwood. Bury continued their siege with their number 8 Leo Freschini a constant thorn in the side of the home team throughout the game and Second Row Matt Kluwe showing a ridiculous turn of pace whenever he got the ball penetrating into Fleetwoods defence. It felt like a try was inevitable for the away team and Oscar Loftus spotted a gap at a ruck on the Fleetwood 22 and scored under the sticks, converted by Tom Smith and Bury were 0-7 up.

Fleetwood 0
Bury 7

This galvanized Fleetwood and they took the game to Bury with the forwards working hard and the backs executing their moves with aplomb. Fleetwood looked certain to score out wide but the ball was deemed to have been intentionally slapped down by the Bury defense. From the resulting penalty Fleetwood chose to tap, the ball was span wide, it found it's way to winger Max Bailey who sliced through the Bury defense and touched down outwide, conversion missed.

Fleetwood 5
Bury 7

Fleetwood now had their tails up and the backs were firing on all cylinders and but for 2 forward pass calls would have been in full control of the game.

From a loose Fleetwood carry Bury counter attacked brilliantly and Sam Lyth finished outwide despite some desperate defence from Fleetwood, conversion missed

Fleetwood 5
Bury 12

Half time approaching, Tommy Hibbert was marshalling the game supremely and Fleetwood continued to knock on the door but could not do anything more in the first half.

Half Time

This was now it 40 minutes to score three tries, at this point it didn't matter that Bury were winning as Fleetwood still had a very specific outcome to achieve. Coaches and the player leadership team said their words and the lads were ready to go.

In the first half Fleetwood were guilty at times of panicking at key moments, and although the lineout started shakily, it began to function fully.

Richard Todd blew the whilst for the second half and play was back under way.

Fleetwood started the half in the ascendancy and found themselves in the Bury 22, Brett Whitehead got his hands in the ball and made an gain line carry, a superb offload to Max Bailey who took contact. The forwards rucked over and the ball was recycled, Kieran Butler fired the ball to Tommy Hibbert, who in turn faked one way and then gave the inside ball to Tom Cockcroft who was unstoppable from a few meters out and touched down in front of the sticks, converted, and Fleetwood were now confident, 2 tries needed for promotion

Fleetwood 12
Bury 12

After some quick exchanges Fleetwood again found themselves camped in the Bury 22 and were less than a metre out, they pummeled the line Tom Evans thought he'd touched down but the referee called short, the ball was recycled a number of times and Kieran Butler touched down, Tom Evans with a successful conversion

Fleetwood 19
Bury 12

One try needed and about 25 minutes left

The next portion of the game was a war of attrition, both teams exchanging blows, mistakes, penalties all happening between the 2 teams 22 metre lines. Bury were held up over the line by resolute Fleetwood defence, preventing a try and the home team being awarded a scrum to alleviate the pressure.

Bury were awarded a penalty in front of the sticks which they deliberated over for a lingering moment. Kick the 3 and keep Fleetwood out for the rest of the game and Bury would be promoted, to win the league they'd have to beat Fleetwood (or hope Orrell were losing which they weren't). Fleetwood were very much under the cosh, Bury elected for the penalty, Tom Smith stepped up and slotted for 3 points, and despite this nothing had changed for Fleetwood, and if anything this kick relieved significant pressure.

News had filtered through that Orrell were comfortably beating Ashton which meant as it stood Orrell would finish 2nd as Bury had a losing bonus point in their grasp and a superior points difference, but Fleetwood had different plans.

Fleetwood 19
Bury 15

6 minutes left

This was it, do or die, the whole season came down to the final minutes, the crowd gave one final roar and the game continued.

What happened next will likely not be seen at Melbourne Avenue for a long time.

Fleetwood drove the ball towards Bury time and again but time was running out. Fleetwood once again found themselves on the Bury line, with 4 minutes left. Fleetwood picked from the base of the ruck over and over again, it was a matter of millimetres between Fleetwood and promotion. Prop Mike Jackson gave everything driving incredibly low and managing to touch down with his arm fully extended to the left of the sticks, the players, backroom staff and Melbourne avenue all erupted and Fleetwood had done it, 4 tries scored, converted by Tom Evans. But the game wasn't quite done yet.

Fleetwood 26
Bury 15

2 minutes left

Bury kicked off and the ball was recycled by Fleetwood, players asking how long was left, but it was not yet time. After a brief exchange of play, there was a scrum to Bury just outside the Fleetwood 22, writing this match report I'm still not overly sure what happened, the scrum finished there were a couple of tackles the game stopped and the Fleetwood players celebrated, but there was no whistle. A few seconds later the referee signalled a knock on and blew the full time whistle and that was that, the crowd once again roared, against all odds Fleetwood had done it and they earned their first promotion since for well over 10 years

Full Time

Fleetwood 26
Bury 15

A great game of rugby, both teams playing to win and giving absolutely everything, leaving nothing on the pitch. Bury played their part and have been a great adversary this season, and they will come back stronger next season, commiserations to them, gracious in defeat and Fleetwood also doing the right thing taking their time to acknowledge the opposition.

To a man Fleetwood were superb

In the front row Shannon Morgan carried hard all day and was rock solid in the scrum, Daniel Atkin carried, tackled hard and threw in well, Mike Jackson was all action and scored the crucial try for Fleetwood, replacement prop Matthew Robinson used all of his scrummaging prowess to turn the tides when he came on. The second row of Ricky Newton and Tom Cockcroft carried, tackled and rucked all day long, and the back row of Luke Brocklehurst, Tom Greenwood and Luca Stephenson and replacement Aaron Hargreaves were everywhere smashing anything that moved, rucking, counter rucking, getting over the gain line with carries and turning ball over, the work rate from the pack was immense.

Kieran Butler put in a warriors performance at 9, carrying, tackling, and getting the backs quick ball taking the man of the match award from our sponsors for the day. Tommy Hibbert was the orchestrator keeping Bury guessing every time he got the ball, Chris Jones carried hard, defended well and hit a lovely pass to Max Bailey to score in the first half, he was also awarded man of the match. Brett Whitehead is always a threat and today was no different, every defence in the league is terrified of what he will do. Max Bailey aside from his well taken try defended brilliantly, and at one point looked like he was going to go almost the full length with his outrageous footwork.

Speaking of footwork, on the other wing Luke Wilson was unlucky not to have scored on a couple of occasions and sent one of the Bury back row back to Bury with one of his sidesteps. Tom Priestley slotted in when he came on running the right lines, always a threat and defending willfully. Tom Evans was at his imperious best, gliding past defenders time and again, knitting the attack together, and being a huge threat from full back, its Tom's 2nd promotion with Fleetwood, the last one being 14 years ago!

We must shout out Mitch Gorse who was named 19th man on the day, Mitch has been around the squad for a few seasons now and epitomises what being a Rugby player is about, he'll play for any team, in any position, in any location, never complains, and although he was disappointed not to play, he's been a huge part of the season.

Skipper Jack Brocklehurst unfortunately missing with a broken arm has had a great season in the loose and set piece and is so unlucky to have missed this game after being injured the previous week

In a season like no other; with a huge influx of players from multiple clubs, people moving to the area and players returning, along side the spine that has been around over the past few difficult years, to achieve promotion for both mens senior teams is nothing short of remarkable, getting new players is easy, getting everyone to play together, get to know each other and buy into the culture and values is not.

It was clear on Saturday at the club, there is a new generation of supporters, families, members to supplement those that are already part of the club, and this bodes well for the future, everyone had a fantastic day and night. The integration of the men's, ladies and mini/junior teams continues to go from strength to strength but is also something that takes time.

A big thankyou to Richard Todd for referring the game so well, a clear communicator who wanted the game to flow and allow both teams to play.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended on the day, the entertainment Katy C Singer & Andy Drake, KeeKee's Pizza, and last but by no means least, all of the staff & volunteers on the bar, in the kitchen, fundraising, glass collecting, marshalling and more! A proper team effort on and off the pitch.

Fleetwood finish the league campaign in 2nd place which sees them promoted, 19 games played, 4 losses and the following key performance indicators

- The leagues best defensive record with less than 14 points on average conceded per game

- Unbeaten at Home, this was also the case for the Wyresiders

- A try bonus point in home every game and only one bonus point given away to eventual champions Orrell

Director of Rugby Ricky Newton had the following to say post game

"After the achievements of the Wyresiders the night before, the pressure was on to keep the momentum going. It was a high-stakes day against very tough opposition in Bury, and we always knew it would be close.

The plan was to take the emotion out of the game, focus on our strengths, and keep the penalty count low. I’m super proud of the lads and what turned out to be an absolutely fantastic day for the club after everyone’s efforts, both on and off the pitch, throughout the season."

1st Team Manager and forwards coach Jamie Moran added "Really happy with the result. It was chaotic at times but I had all faith in the lads that they would go out there and do exactly what was needed. Promotion is the least these lads deserve this season. There’s been a real togetherness all season and it’s good to see"

Head Coach Simon Daws closed with the following

"What a 24 hours. I’ve nothing but respect and admiration for the Fleetwood playing squad after a long and eventful league campaign.

Sport is cruel sometimes. As a club we’ve been on the receiving end of our fair share in recent years ….. whether that’s been multiple injuries, a deflected clearance kick against Tyldesley in the final play to lose the game or indeed our lack of points difference due to so few home games this year. We’ve had to deal with a lot, but Saturday was our turn to have a well earned change of fortune.

The weekends games were both a roller coaster of emotions, literally decided in the final plays of each game.

On Saturday we had to dig deep. Very deep. We stuck to our values and playing philosophy though, and kept playing right until the end. Rugby often isn’t about winning the game in the first five minutes, it’s about physically investing and applying pressure to an opponent throughout - both on the scoreboard and through actions.

I can’t speak highly enough of Bury. Their players, coaching staff and supporters were humble and gracious in defeat and I genuinely hope we see them soon at the next level.

They are well coached, ambitious in attack and look to win positively as opposed to some of the ‘anti rugby’ we’ve experienced this last few years.

Finally I must thank the people of Fleetwood and the surrounding area for turning up to support on Saturday. You were the 16th (and 17th man) and the boys only had to look over to you to find another gear …. to remind them of what they are playing for.

We have another ‘set of 7’ to do now, culminating in a Cup quarter final in Rotherham next week, so we’re not done yet.

With two promotions secured and a great win for the women, Saturday was a day to remember for the club - let’s keep up the hard work for just another couple more games and finish this season creating some more amazing memories."

Fleetwood must now go again, as they head into the unknown with a trip to Rotherham Phoenix on Saturday 2nd May coach details to follow. This fixture is a quarter final in the RFU Community Cup (ex Papa John's), the winner of that game will face Skipton or York away the following weekend on 9th May, and the winner of that game will play at Doncaster Knights stadium in the final on 16th May.

Fleetwood also have the Lancashire Cup final against Burnley on what we think is the 23rd May, but this is tbc. Burnley have hit a terrific run of form since Fleetwood beat them a number of weeks ago, so we expect the final to be a great game of rugby!