Pocklington's Yorkshire Division One game with Hull on Saturday was called off in farcical circumstances when Hull's first team refused to play on a pitch that their third XV subsequently played on with no problems.

It is now likely that Pocklington will be made to replay the game in a fortnight when they expect to have key players missing.

Pocklington saw no difficulties with the conditions at Percy Road, but Hull declined to play, decreeing the pitch to be too frosty. However, Hull Heroes, their third team, had no such worries and they promptly took the field and went on to be 25-7 winners over Pocklington Pilgrims.

The proceedings soured Gary Pearce's return to Pocklington as Hull also refused to play on another even better pitch at the club's additional grounds at Kilmwick Road. And that surface also posed no problems when Pocklington Merovingians played Market Rasen on it and won 19-5.

Though it was considerably colder on Sunday morning, Pocklington still had playable pitches available and Pocklington under 13's beat Malton and Norton 22-5.

Frost-bound pitches caused half the Northern Division league games to be postponed on Saturday but Redcar's trip to York's North Two East basement rivals West Park Bramhope was not in vain as they won 5-3.

The former Great Britian rugby league international, Garry Schofield, did the trick for Redcar scoring an unconverted try from a rolling maul after Park had taken a 3-0 lead at half-time with a penalty.

In Yorkshire One, Northallerton went down 21-15 at West Leeds on a pitch that was soft on top but hard underneath.

West Leeds's number eight, David Breakwell, scored three penalties, a conversion and a try, the other touchdown being made by scrum-half, Julian Chard.

Northallerton's replacement winger, Simon Coxon (2), and full-back Ed Bulman scored tries.

The match was controlled by a woman referee, Sarah Strong from the London Society of Referees.

Among the many other York-area postponements on Saturday because of frozen pitches were Harrogate v Rosslyn Park, Bridlington v Beverley, Goole v Halifax, Cleckheaton v Ripon, Scarborough v Dinnington and Wetherby v Old Rishworthians.

Updated: 12:16 Monday, January 22, 2001