York Groves continued their much improved performances with a 16-16 draw at Upton A.

For 25 minutes there was stalemate before Groves managed to break through with a well taken try scored by Martin Simpson.

The drives of second rower Simpson and prop Simon Moat kept the Doncaster side on the back foot until a minute before half-time when Upton snatched a try and goal to take a two-point lead into the second period.

Upton threw everything at Groves early in the second half but a slip by the home side allowed Groves winger Adie Beales to snap up a loose ball and dance through the remaining cover to touch down and John Thompson added the goal.

Upton responded with two uncoverted tries to lead by six points with ten minutes to go, but Groves lived up to their Terriers nickname with a tenacious fight in the final stages.

A superb 30-yard surge by Moat brought him the try that opened up the opportunity to level the scores and scrum-half Thompson kept his cool to land the goal and earn Groves a welcome point.

Heworth A kicked off their season with a fine 18-6 home win against Allerton Bywater in wet conditions at Elm Park Way.

Heworth led with an early penalty from Stuart Watson, which was followed by a stirring 50-yard run from Steve Barnard to touch down under the posts following good work from Stuart Brown, Watson adding the goal.

The lead was cut back just before the interval when the visitors crossed the home line and added the goal despite being down to 12 men at this stage having had a player dismissed for dangerous play.

The second half saw Heworth take control with Gary Hart getting an early touchdown and then Matt Corr adding a penalty.

The game was over when man of the match John Pinder raced in for a try in the corner.

For Heworth there were fine performances from Dave Edgar, Peter Wregglesworth and veteran Mal Binns. Iit was also a historic occasion for the Brown family with brothers Stuart, Chris and Graham all being in the same starting line-up for the first time.