Two and Counting

The boys easily dispatched up St Ambrose College 49-10 to book their place in the last eight - with the final, held at the home of English rugby, now desperately close.

The semi-finals are also at a prestigious neutral venue - with the RFU Development Centre at Castlecroft, Birmingham, selected to entertain the last four.

First St Peter's must overcome the challenge of Prince Henry's School, Evesham, away on Thursday.

But if they can repeat the performance they produced against St Ambrose, then they will have every right to be confident.

The boys ran in seven tries as they overcame a slow start to blow away their opposition. Charlie Parry, James Pang (2), Rory Robertson, Ally McCleod, Jacob Torugher and Jason Burton all touched down, while Parry added 14 points with the boot.

Robertson gave an excellent display, while Peter Wackett stepped up an age-group to have an impressive debut.

POCKLINGTON duo Rob Webber and Charlie Allen are certain to represent England Under 16s - but the case now is which team will they be selected for.

The pair, who have played for the Yorkshire and North of England U16s' teams together, came through the trial process at the weekend and have now made it down to the last 40.

Pocklington School prop Webber and Woldgate pupil Allen will now travel back to the RFU's Development Centre at Castlecroft, Birmingham, on February 2-3, to battle it out for either a place in the full England team or the 'A' side.

RICHARD Pike has managed to edge ahead of his former St Peter's School team-mate Mark Spilman for a place in the Yorkshire Under 20s starting line-up.

As reported in last week's Scrum Down, the pair were set to line up against each other in a trial game against Durham University.

And it was back-row forward Pike who caught the selectors' eye as he helped Durham, the all-conquering BUSA side, to a 20-0 victory.

The former Rugby World school's player of the month will now join fellow local lads Michael Lewis and Andrew Boyle in the back row for the tie against Cumbria on Sunday, February 3 at Bradford and Bingley.

Loughborough University student Lewis plies his trade at Harrogate, where Boyle started his career before being snapped up by Otley.

Joining the trio in the forwards will be former Pocklington School pupil Charles Leake.

The 19-year-old lock, who now plays for Hull, while studying at Bishop Burton Agricultural College, forced his way into the starting XV after a number of impressive displays in the trials.

It was not all bad news for Spilman, who is now at Harrogate, as the talented fly-half is named among the replacements. Wharfedale's Andrew Baggett has been handed the No 10 jersey.

Squad: Foster, Smith, Forman, Burnett, Blackett, Baggett, Chivers, Webster, Burr, Setterington, Pearce, Leake, A Boyle, Pike, Lewis. Repl: Hughes, Storey, Kennedy, Horton, Jones, Rhodes, Spilman.

DESPITE being thousands of miles away, Graeme Parker has found the ideal way of keeping informed of the goings-on at Selby RUFC - by running their new-look web-site (www.selbyrufc.org).

Parker, who has moved to America to live with his wife Samantha in her home town of Houston, Texas, has teamed up with his father John to give the club a web-site most professional sides would be enviable of.

And now Graeme receives reports from the first, second and third teams, statistics, team news, fixtures and general information from his father to put on to the site.

The father and son duo have built up the site from the initial groundwork of David Bullock, who had put the Sandhill Lane club on the World Wide Web to start with.

Graeme explained: "My dad has been involved at the rugby club ever since moving to Hambleton in '82, as a referee, chairman, barman, etc.

"Last spring (2001) when my mum and dad were visiting me in Texas at Easter he had the idea to do the web-site.

"Upon investigation he discovered that an initial, basic site had already been set up by David Bullock, but that David had no interest in maintaining the site on a regular basis. The site merely contained the club address, phone number and a fixture list.

"So, in agreement with David, my dad and I decided to take over the site and create what can be seen today."

The process is obviously working for the club as the site, which also has a message board, continues to grow in stature, receiving around 30 hits a day.

THERE certainly seems to be something about the local derby between Selby and Pontefract.

For the third match in two seasons, the game has gone down to the final kick, with each one giving a different result.

After victories for each, courtesy of last-minute penalties from Selby's Carl Paterson and Pontefract's Nick Cooper, Saturday saw the Yorkshire One fixture end in a draw.

And again it was the accuracy of Selby's Paterson which decided the match, as the full-back kept his nerve for a second time to level the scores at 13-13 right on the final whistle.

IT has been a long time in the coming, but former Pocklington flanker Carl Stannard finally made his debut for York Wasps RL.

Stannard is currently on an extended trial at the Northern Ford Premiership strugglers, but little under three months after joining he was handed his chance as a substitute against Rochdale Hornets.

Stannard appeared in the second half, but could do little to stop Hornets running out 54-0 winners.

Updated: 10:37 Saturday, January 26, 2002