A MAGNIFICENT effort was not enough to see Nestlé Rowntree RUFC reach the semi-finals of the North Yorkshire Trophy as they lost 38-15 at Ripon.
Trees competed well in the forwards but could not match the pace of Ripon's back division, who scored five of their six tries.
Trailing 17-3 at half-time, Trees fought back with a series of forward drives led by 48-year-old hooker Phil Bainbridge, which set up scrum-half Pete Shores for a try.
Ripon, though, pulled away despite fine tackling from Seb Bos, Chris Moores and Ian Henderson.
Trees reaped further consolation when flanker Brendan Gamble powered over on the final whistle, with John Atkin goaling to add to his first-half penalty.
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