YORK Tigers' duo Billy Greensides and Gavin Smith helped crown Yorkshire as undergraduate kings at the regional student rugby league championship staged at the University of York.

The White Rose representative side beat Ireland Exiles 14-6 in the main final to become the top-ranked region in student RL.

Two more players from the Tigers - the combined York University and College of Ripon and York St John team - played for Scotland Exiles and helped their side to earn the third-place ranking.

York Wasps' trialist Callum Irving, who is likely to sign Academy forms at Huntington Stadium, and Dan Hewitt helped the Scots to beat North West 16-10 in the third-place play-off.

Of the other competing teams, Emerging Wales were ranked fifth, Midlands were sixth, South seventh and North East eighth.

Neil Wood, spokesman for the student rugby league set-up, said: "York was great and the university was absolutely outstanding. It was the best championships we've had in the six years we've been running them.

"York is due to stage an international nines tournament in the summer (as revealed by the Evening Press) and if they experience the same spirit and hospitality we received it will be an immense tournament."

Updated: 11:31 Tuesday, February 26, 2002