PINCER MOVEMENT: Two Selby players close in to tackle a John Smith's, Tadcaster, runner in the first round of the Good Friday Pocklington Sevens.

Pocklington RUFC enjoyed another bumper John Smith's Good Friday Sevens when a record bank holiday crowd packed into Percy Road for a feast of rugby.

With Pocklington coach Gary Pearce saving most of his players for next week's Yorkshire Shield Final at York, his Festival Seven was led by Pocklington Old Boy Dan Clappison, and several of his Otley colleagues, supplemented by Pocklington's sprint specialists.

They met the York managed Quality Street Gang, who had been in top form to knock out last year's winners Goole, in the quarter finals, then squeeze past Middlesex Sevens qualifiers, London Nigerians in a tense semi.

In the final, the Festival side caught their opponents cold, with two early scores that always put them in control.

It was 26-7 early in the second half when the Quality Street Gang sent on sub Peter Winterbottom, but the ex-England and British Lions forward could not quite do enough to turn things round and the Festival side pulled away again to be 41-24 winners.

In the Plate competition for first round losers, Malton and Norton came through to be popular winners, beating Hull in the Final.

Pock Sevens results

Quarter-finals: East Yorkshire Exiles 10, Festival Seven 26; Brookfield 5, Beverley 26; Quality Street Gang 30, Goole 0; Northern 7, London Nigerians 27.

Semi-finals: Festival Seven 31, Beverley 12; Quality Street Gang 17, London Nigerians 15.

Final: Festival Seven 41, Quality Street Gang 24.

Plate Final: Malton and Norton 31, Hull 26.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.