YORK RUFC's future seems in safe hands after the club's juniors turned out in force to help the Clifton Parkers haul in a treasure trove of silverware.
The Under-15s triumphed in the North Yorkshire Cup, while the U14s swept to success in the North Yorkshire Bowl. The U13s only narrowly failed to make it a glorious hat-trick when they were just beaten in their North Yorkshire Cup final.
With each side boasting big squads of eager youngsters it's only a matter of time before this next generation are forcing their way into first team thinking at the Shipton Road outfit.
The U15s defied the odds to lift their trophy in what's becoming one of the section's finest seasons.
They demolished Guisborough 47-0 in their final match after having started the game needing to win by 26 points if they were to become champions.
Cameron Griffin and George Elliott were among the scorers in a 17-0 opening win over Redcar, but the U15s were held 7-7 by Harrogate, setting them their improbable victory target against Guisborough.
A hat-trick from Elliott along with scores from Charlie Nicholson, Ewan Shepherd, Jack Bass and Josh Igoe sealed a thumping win and an impressive cup triumph. The 14-year-olds have lost just once all year.
Alison Griffin, team manager, said: "It was absolutely fantastic and all the lads were really chuffed. This is a special group of players. We've got 31 players and it is brilliant to win the Yorkshire Cup.
"The coaches didn't tell the players what the target was in the last game. They just kept saying we need to get another'."
Meanwhile, the U14s had triumphed in difficult conditions at Acklam, near Middlesbrough, to win the Bowl. Edward Buck, Eddie Bradshaw, Patrick Searle and Divine Kudzewllr scored the tries in a 20-0 victory over Middlesbrough, before they drew 5-5 with Acklam - Buck getting a second-half equalising score.
Acklam could only beat Middlesbrough 5-0 so the York youngsters were awarded the trophy on tries scored.
Team manager Nigel Simms, said: "The conditions weren't great and the wind made kicking really difficult but it was great to win."
Finally, at Clifton Park, the U13s only narrowly failed to win their version of the North Yorkshire Cup. The 12-year-olds picked up wins against Middlesbrough and Acklam in the round robin-event before losing 5-0 to Harrogate in the title decider.
They got off to a flying start - dispatching Middlesbrough 20-0 thanks a couple of tries from Tom Kimpson and a score from Alisdair Hall.
They continued their good form against Acklam, winning 10-5 with tries from Tom Edwards and Ricky Walker. But they came unstuck in their final game when, with the scores locked at 0-0, Harrogate scored in the second half from an interception.
Although York were camped in the Harrogate half as time wound down, they were unable to cross the visitors' line leaving them as runners-up.
Rob Snook, chairman of York's youth section, said the three results were a triumph for the club's burgeoning set-up, which now had representative teams from U6 right up to U16 level.
"The U13 squad is really buoyant. There are 32 players and, of course, only 15 can be on the pitch but all the lads were supporting each other even if they weren't involved so much," he said.
"We have four or five lads in the first team who have come up through the youth system and there are 14 or 15 young players representing York and North Yorkshire.
"We have got 14 players at North Yorkshire training. It's a huge success story."
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