York 1st XV v Yarnbury 1st XV

York 23 – 21 Yarnbury – Yorkshire One League

Yarnbury were depleted for this fixture without several forwards and Kieran Davies at stand off and Connor Moreton in the centre and also lost influential back row Joe Bennett on the day so drafted in John Dodgson off the bench as prop and switched second row Ian Maycock to the back row and brought James Falgate into his place in the second row and with George Oldridge in at fly half and Tom O’brien on the wing and Jarrod Huss in the centre the line up had an unfamiliar look about it against an inform York side pushing for the second spot.It looked even worse after 10 minutes when York attacked down the slope after a poor clearence kick out allowed the York backs to move the ball swiftly across to the right side away from the cover to give right wing Will Atkin an overlap to score in the corner.This was after a penalty under the posts for Yarnbury to enthusiastic in the ruck to give full back George Davies an easy three points from a penalty in front of the posts.Eight points start before Yarnbury got going.

Gary Walker’s idea to start his big guns in the scrummage paid off as York were forced back up the slope by a Yarnbury side making their mark on the game and forcing York into errors and loose passes giving The Horsforth side the initiative.Firstly full back Will Marshall stroked a close in penalty after York were deemed offside and then an interception by stand off George Oldridge one handed gathered and ran 40 metres and passed to supporting winger Jack Brown to score on the right converted by Will Marshall put Yarnbury in front.With Captain Jimmy Cryan back on as a substitute for injured Jarrod Huss making his present felt after a season long injury at inside centre with some crunching tackles which upset the home side Yarnbury were on top of the game against a bemused York side.Yarnbury were making good yards with forward runs from the three second rows of Pete Kernick,James Falgate and Ian Maycock.Hooker Harry Mincella breaking the line and feeding winger Jack Brown who outstripped the cover to score an unconverted try to give Yarnbury a 8-15 lead at the break and a deserved lead in an exiting contest.

Yarnbury went further ahead after the break with a Will Marshall penalty after early forward pressure.York to their credit stormed back soon after the restart with a second try for winger Will Atkin.They then took the lead when substitute back row Dan Coe managed to slip through strong tackling to ground the ball on the line for another York score and with Davies converting put York just in front 20-18.Davies pushed York further in front with a penalty from a rare attack.Yarnbury were pushing for the win and peppered the York line through their forwards but the defence held firm with some disciplined cover along the line.Yarnbury closed the gap with only a penalty to show for these efforts from full back Will Marshall.The impressive Maycock and York centre Tom Newitt both limped off in the final quarter and if George Oldridge had kicked a penalty in the final minute Yarnbury would have scored a deserved if unexpected win.However the sterling effort from the half way line dropped onto the post just below the crossbar.An excellent effort from the Horsforth side and will have given them confidence for the clash next week with the league leaders.