After a slow start lacking aggression and a clinical edge, it was the Mods who got their act together to put the first points on the board. A hanging kick off from Ryan Martin allowed Regan Lowe to all but end the Thirsk catcher. The ball was turned over and after a couple of phases of big carries and effective clear outs, Luke Spencer ghosted through a huge gap to dot down.

A successful conversion and penalty later and the Mods scored again. This time it was the huge frame of Harry Potter/ Andre the giant cross breed, Dan Couves.

The match day notes compiled by Barbara Spencer and Graeme Greenfield have described the try with the following phrases:

'The man mountain moved' and 'Couves smelt fear'.

Needless to say the try wasn't one of flair or individual skill. A pick and go from five metres out had defenders barrelling (and sometimes diving) out the way. The conversion was missed.

5 minutes later and another 5 points for the Mods. A well worked driving maul from the forwards gave the home team territory. A couple of straightened lines in midfield created space. Good hands and Jay Pattison's speed up the touchline were enough to secure the try. When the mods keep it simple, they're hard to stop.

The final noteworthy action of the first half came when a Thirsk player referred to Couves as skinny boy. I'm sure that Dan has been referred to as many things in his time but that must be a new one.

The half time score was 22-3. A good 40 mins of rugby, all in all.

The second half started in less impressive fashion. A slow start and lack of tackling allowed Thirsk to get their first (and as it transpired, only) 5 pointer. And that 5 points soon turned into seven.

Further setbacks saw stand-in skipper, Sam Humphrey, forced off with a suspected concussion, before the famously overworked mouth of Richard Oddy earned him 10 mins on the sidelines.

But the Mods were not to be denied either the victory or the bonus point. The game was secured with a classic brace, but the scorer will surprise many.

Finding himself in the unnatural position of left wing, elder statesman Sam Glassup twice sidestepped and turned his opposite man inside and out to register scores. The second of the meat pies went to the TMO for an extensive review, but the absolutely 100% correct judgement stated that Glassup actually came nowhere near to knocking on in the act of scoring.

The game finished 34-10, but the Mods will be frustrated that they left points on the field. They'll have the chance to right those wrongs in a couple of weeks time when they travel to Halifax RUFC.