Greg Nicholls is back at Fylde

Dr Gregory Nicholls led a young Hawks squad out on Thursday evening in a hastily arranged pre-season game against Ormskirk. It may be that some readers are unfamiar with this local lad, formerly at Arnold School, who has returned home. Greg Nicholls is a very accomplished scrum-half who has played at the highest level in the English club game, the Premiership.

We caught up with him this week and posed some questions:

Q. We know that you've completed a medical degree. What specialism are you following?
A. I'm following a surgical path looking to specialise in orthopaedics. I'm currently working at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Q. What brings you back to the Lancashire Coast?
A. Work... the application process for jobs at my stage is a bit pot luck.  You can end up anywhere in the country.  I happened to get offered a job in the North West.

Q. Before Saturday, when did you last play a competitive match at the Woodlands?
A. It was two years ago in the Old Boys Boxing Day match for Old Arnoldians. I'm not sure it could be classed as competitive though!

Q. In which age groups did you play at Fylde as a youngster?
A. I started off in the minis - I think it was U'8s - then played through till U'16s.

Q. Did any other Arnold students in your year go on to play senior rugby?
A. Non of my year went on to play senior rugby at high level. I think a few my have played socially.  Christian Day was in the year above and still plays at Northampton Saints.

Q. Tell us about your rugby career after Arnold.

A. Whilst in the 6th Form at Arnold I played at Sale Academy and also for England U19s. I then went to Bristol University in 2002 to study medicine and earned a contract to play at Bristol Shoguns, as they were called back then.

I put medicine on hold after a year and played five seasons full-time. In 2005/6 I played in the Premiership and a season later we finished 3rd in the table. In all, I made over 80 1st team appearances. I then picked up my medical studies again and played for London Welsh in what is now the RFU Championship (level 2) in 2007/8 followed by a season with Plymouth Albion, also at level 2. Then, starting in 2009, as my studies took so much of my time, I played at Bristol University for three seasons,  finished my degree and played for England Students in 2011/12.

Once medically qualified I played for Clifton for last two seasons in National Two (South), helping out with a bit of coaching.  I also helped coach the Bristol University side for last two seasons.  We gained promotion back to the BUCS Premier Division and appeared in a couple of cup finals in consecutive years.   

Q. What do you look for from rugby now after playing at a high level?
A. I'm looking to enjoy the game and also a bit of a personal test/challenge to see if I can get back to playing at a higher level after a few years taking it a bit easier.

Q. It must have seemed strange getting a little game time against a very strong Sale Sharks squad on Saturday, especially as you met up with one or two ex-team mates ...
A. We used to do the same at Clifton, playing Bristol as a pre-season so I knew it was going to be a tough ask. Games like that are important as it lets you know where you are. You are constantly under pressure. It gives you a good idea of where you stand as a player. It's nice to see things go well but also good to highlight any weaknesses.

Q. Finally, do you have any other comments about Fylde RFC from what little you've seen of late?
A. The club has been very welcoming, and it's nice to see a few old faces that I've played with/against over the years such as Warren Spragg, Chris Briers, Oli Brennand & Sam Beaumont. It seems a positive Club looking to push on as much as possible this coming season.

Fylde Head Coach Mark Nelson said: “It is great to have a local lad returning to his roots after a long and very successful playing career in the South and South West. I coached Greg at Arnold as part of my then role as Academy Manager at Sale and he was an excellent prospect.

"Interestingly, we now have three former Arnold boys at scrum half in the senior ranks with Tom Webb and Martin Wallwork. Greg will be involved with the senior squad going forward and along with Wally underpin the excellent talent we have at 9 with Ryan De La Harpe, Jordan Dorrington and Tom Webb."