IF matches were won on sheer pride and passion, York Wasps would now be celebrating a shock opening day victory over title contenders Doncaster Dragons.

Sadly, pride and passion need to be matched by application which eventually proved the difference as Huntington Stadium welcomed in another season of Northern Ford Premiership action yesterday.

The Wasps have been written off in many quarters but this performance should make the critics sit up and take notice.

Unlike the Wasps of old, Lee Crooks' new-look squad will not be lying down for anybody this season. They made the star-studded Dragons fight every inch for their win but unfortunately gift-wrapped a few too many early Christmas presents to St John Ellis' men.

In the first half especially, the Wasps gave away possession on countless occasions when they were in sight of the Dragons' try-line.

That took the pressure off Doncaster at crucial moments and forced York onto the defensive far too often.

That defence certainly stood its ground in the first half though. The Dragons had just one try to show for their efforts, that coming from some excellent play by their new half-back combination of Paul Mansson and Latham Tawhai.

Stand-off Mansson - a close season acquisition from Widnes - broke from the half-way line, drew Jamie Benn and Paul Butterfield before turning the ball back inside to give Tawhai an unhindered run to the line.

It was classy, simple and performed to perfection. In the past it could also have signalled the beginning of the end for the Wasps.

But not this York team. Despite the early score, and losing prop forward Andy Precious with a suspected broken ankle less than a minute into the contest, the Wasps stood firm.

After a slow start, they forced their way back into the game. Former York player Simon Irving added a penalty to his earlier conversion to make it 8-0 but that was Doncaster's only other score of the half.

Jamie Benn replied with a towering 40-metre effort for York who were soon launching some dangerous attacks of their own. Dragons winger Kevin Crouthers was sin-binned after half an hour for taking out Benn off the ball which aided the Wasps' cause further.

Benn almost got York's first try on the board when he was first to Gareth Dobson's chip through but he couldn't pick up the ball cleanly under the Doncaster posts.

York started the second half a man down following Spencer Hargrave's sin-binning on the stroke of half-time for a professional foul. It proved costly, as Doncaster ran in two tries in the space of five minutes.

Speedy full-back Lynton Stott burst onto a pass from former York hooker Peter Edwards to slice through the defence and score under the posts.

Then Mansson provided the opening for Craig Weston to cut inside from the left and leave himself an easy conversion.

At 20-2 the Wasps looked well and truly out of contention. But in all their pre-season matches they have come back strongly in the later stages and they continued that trend with a tremendous last half hour.

Stand-off Paddy Handley grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to start dictating play, while the introduction of young substitute Chris Allen changed the pattern of the game.

He added a new dimension in attack and deservedly got his name on the scoresheet. Taking Handley's pass out on the right, he dummied to his outside, straightened up and used his pace to scamper over the line. Benn added a difficult conversion to leave York just two scores adrfit.

But dropped balls continued to hamper their attack before Edwards finally ended his old club's chances with an individual try from acting half.

Not the result the Wasps wanted, but a performance which suggests Crooks' target of winning half their matches is well within their capabilities.

Northern Ford Premiership

Sunday, December 3, 2000

York Wasps 8, Doncaster 26

York Wasps

Tries: Allen (6 mins)

Goals: Benn 2

York Wasps: Jamie Benn 7, Paul Butterfield 7, Darren Hughes 8, Gareth Lloyd 7, Leroy McKenzie 7, Paddy Handley 8, Gareth Dobson 7, Andy Precious -, Alan Pallister 7, Craig Forsyth 8, Michael Smith 7, Craig Moore 8, Spencer Hargrave 8.

Subs: Chris Allen (for pallister 49) 8, Shaun Austerfield (Forsyth 34) 7, Matt Mulholland (Lloyd 53) 7, Mick Hagan (Precious 1) 7. Re-subs: Forsyth for hagan 49.

Sin-binned: Hargrave (40mins, professional foul)

Sent off: None

Penalties: 11

Scrums won: 9

Doncaster

Tries: Tawhai (7 mins), Stott (43), Weston (47), Edwards (67)

Goals: Irving 2, Weston 3

Doncaster Dragons: Lynton Stott, Kevin Crouthers, Craig Weston, Carl Hall, Neil Bennett, Paul Mansson, Latham Tawhai, Asa Amone, Peter Edwards, Joe Berry, Rob Wilson, James Bunyan, Simon Irving.

Subs: James Walker (for Bunyan 63 mins), Billy Conway (Irving 38), Maea David (Berry 27), Ian Ramskill (Amone 49). Re-subs: Berry for Ramskill 64, Amone for Wilson 75.

Sin-binned: Crouthers (31 mins, off the ball tackle), Hepi (holding down).

Sent off: None

Penalties: 9

Scrums won: 5.

Attendance: 1,251

Referee: Ron Laughton (Barnsley)

Half-time: 2-8

Evening Press/Guildford Construction man of the match: Paddy Handley

The pick of several excellent performances.

Brought York back into the game by dictating play in the second half when the pressure was on