York RUFC record first win of season against Cleckheaton

York had suffered defeats away to likely promotion chasers Alnwick and Billingham in the opening two rounds but made the perfect return to home soil to edge past Cleckheaton and claim a bonus try point in the process.

The hosts made a bright start against their West Yorkshire visitors, who were down to 14 men when Tom Hainsworth was sin-binned early on for a high tackle, breaking the deadlock after a dozen minutes.

After a period of sustained pressure, former Leicester Tigers fly-half Declan Cusack tried a different tack and chipped over the Cleckheaton defence.

York regained possession and some strong forward play took them to the opposition line where Ross White fed Charles Scholey, who went over to the left of the posts.

Cusack added the two conversions, his first of four conversions from five attempts, missing only the latter.

Cleckheaton hit back with a brace of tries to move 12-7 in front. First, Richard Piper crashed over near the corner flag from a lineout 5m from the line.

Then, Mike Hayward sliced through the York line in midfield to move his side ahead.

Dale Breakwell was off target with his first effort at goal but landed the second, finishing with three conversions from four attempts.

In-between those scores, York lost Jonty Atkinson to the sin-bin for a deliberate interception.

The home side worked their way back into the contest through a strong lineout. From one such play, York quickly shifted the ball to the left and White's hard work was rewarded with a try.

Before the break, Cleckheaton appeared tired and stretched, particularly against the fine distribution of ex-professional Cusack, who steered his side around the field.

A third score followed prior to half time as another clever Cusack chip was pounced on by Toby Atkin just before running dead.

That left York 21-12 up heading into the second half, an advantage which would soon become 28-12.

Some lovely hands from substitute Lewis Jackson went Willem Enslin over for a route one try, earning a bonus point.

The remainder of the second half proved a tough challenge for York, despite Cleckheaton going down to 13 players at one stage.

The visitors saw hooker Robin Bennett sent off while Joe Flanagan was sin-binned shortly after.

Cleckheaton showed character to score while at a numerical disadvantage. Former Castleford Tigers half-back Dom Brambani combined with Breakwell to allow Dom Flanagan to dummy over the line.

Tom Woffendin put the result beyond any doubt however and completed the York scoring with a sublime try in the left hand corner after sustained pressure and some intricate passing across the field proved too much for the stretched defence.

A mistake at the restart allowed Cleckheaton to swiftly regain the ball. Ollie Depledge went on a blindside charge and he fed Josh Plunkett for a bonus point try.

York travel to Doncaster Phoenix's Castle Park on Friday night (7.45pm).

Doncaster are top of the Regional One North East table, having claimed bonus-try points in each of their opening three wins.

Meanwhile, Malton and Norton remain top of the Regional Two North East after a 48-0 win away to Selby.

Malton ran in seven tries without reply, including a brace from Ed Lockwood, to secure a second straight try-bonus point, establishing a one-point lead at the top of the table over Moortown.

The visitors quickly displayed their physical dominance over Selby as their pack rumbled to the home line before a break by Ali Fothergill allowed him to put Ben Tenge over inside the first 10 minutes.

James Bulmer added the two points, his first of five successful conversions.

Two minutes later, a quality pass from captain Sam Triffitt put Lockwood in space and his speed and power saw him over the whitewash for the first time in the afternoon.

Bulmer then added a penalty goal before crossing the try-line himself, taking advantage of a Selby handling error from his own kick.

The scorer turned provider before the break. Bulmer dummied past a couple of defenders before giving Fothergill an easy finish, bringing up a 31-0 lead by half time.

Some lovely interplay from a line-out between Nick Salisbury and Tom Lowry sent the former crashing over shortly after the interval.

Lockwood then completed his double, finishing an offload from replacement Dylan Jones after Tenge’s break.

Substitute Ryan Donaghy barged over from a drive to the line late on.
Malton host point-less bottom club Bradford and Bingley at The Gannock on Saturday (3pm).

Selby meanwhile travel to 100 per cent second-placed side Moortown on Saturday (3pm).

Elsewhere in the division, Pocklington picked up their first win of the season in emphatic fashion, thrashing Old Crossleyans 59-17 at Percy Road.

A Harry Matthews brace as well as tries from Rob Boddy, Christian Pollock, Kym Russell, Louis Sangwin, Richie Kaisia and Liam Giltrap led Pock to the try-bonus win.

Pollock also contributed five conversions and a penalty goal, with Matthews chipping in with three two-pointers.

Old Brodleians, who have two wins from their first three matches, head to Pocklington on Saturday (3pm).

In the Counties Four Yorkshire, Nestle Rowntree suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 39-29 at home to Aireborough.

Matt Downes scored two tries for Trees, with Tim Stubbs and Zak Hardy also crossing the whitewash, but Aireborough ultimately proved too strong.

Jack Daniels bagged two conversions for the hosts, who host Hessle on Saturday (3pm).

York RI fell to a third straight defeat after a 35-5 loss away to Old Otliensians.

RI return to home soil to host Rotherham Phoenix on Saturday (3pm).