A RIGHT royal rumpus has erupted over York's Golden Jubilee Rugby League Festival after a team from Oxford tried once again to muscle in on the event.

City of York Council has teamed up with the Rugby Football League and Heworth Amateur Rugby League Club to stage the 16-team invitation-only nine-a-side tournament on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3.

The event has an English Civil War theme and teams from all over the British Isles and France will join a specially-selected York Ironsides team to compete for the Fairfax Cup - named after the roundhead commander Lord Fairfax, who famously petitioned King Charles I at Heworth 360 years ago.

But now, in rugby's own mini-civil war, RL Conference club Oxford Cavaliers have again chided the tournament organisers for snubbing them.

In a press release, Cavaliers' chairman Kath Allison even complained about the Ironsides' planned kit colours - blue, red and white - saying they were the true colours of Cavaliers.

Today tournament organiser and former London Broncos supremo Lionel Hurst fired his own salvo back.

He said: "The Cavaliers claim they have some kind of divine right to be involved in this tournament and that the Ironsides will be even wearing the Royalists' colours, but this promises to be a very exciting tournament with a feast of rugby league fit for a king.

"And, with teams from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, North Wales, Belfast, and Dublin as well as the oldest and newest teams in France and teams from the Armed Services involved, there will be plenty of needle on show without inviting the Cavaliers.

"We have tried to get a good geographical spread to the tournament and get a representation for the enthusiasm that our game is generating across a range of cultures and communities.

"It is also important to realise that we are hoping this will not be a one-off event. It is possible that the Cavaliers may be invited to future tournaments."

YORK Groves player-coach Simon Moat is keen to get back to action for Saturday's trip to Birkenshaw 'A' after a few weeks of inactivity.

Groves, who have just two league matches left, have been training hard but lack the competitive edge they need to put clear water between them and the relegation zone.

And Moat is after 100 per cent commitment from his squad and wants all players to make themselves available for the remaining games.

The Terriers are now training at the Hopgrove Sports Centre on Malton Road, on Wednesday evenings.

Updated: 11:56 Thursday, April 11, 2002