At least over the last half-decade, York and Scarborough have followed each other through Yorkshire One and up to North One East. Scarborough, after finishing second in the division last season, lost in their promotion play-off but this year it is York who are top of the league with only a few games remaining.

With difficult weather predicted, York went for a powerful and experienced forward pack. Chris Fox and Luke Stockton in the second row, Cade Robinson and Joe Simpson were the flankers with Joe Maud at Eight. Shane Goulding added additional power as a back-row rotation. Liam Hessay played at fly-half with Jonny Frank and Sam Forbes in the centres. After an away loss to second-place Cleckheaton last week, York were determined not to allow their opportunity to win the league to slip away.

With the weather somewhat settled and with the wind behind them York took an early lead. Liam kicked a penalty long in to the corner to set up a driving maul. Joe Maud broke from the side of the maul with ball-in-hand and drove it over. Liam missed a difficult conversion. York scored their second try soon after. Joe Simpson found some space at the side of a ruck and ran in to open field. Toby Atkin (scrum-half) was in support to receive the final pass. The conversion was good. York kept up the pressure; with John Aikman, Ross White and Will Scholey in the front-row, the scrummage was more than steady. After a dominant scrum surge, York won a penalty and pushed Scarborough back again. This time, the back-line handled the ball. George Davies (wing) and Ben Dyson-Dent (fullback) both went close to scoring before the ball was spun the other way. Luke Stockton received a pass in space on a straight, forceful line. He had too much, on this occasion, for a stretched Scarborough defence. The conversion was slotted again.

Scarborough got in to the game with a try of their own. Their scrum-half, Jordan Wakeham, waited patiently for the referee to blow his whistle on an awarded penalty. He then sharply tapped the ball and moved past a number of defensive players who were now in an offside position. He was supported by Tom Harrison (fullback) who released Euan Govier (flanker) to score. The Scarborough fly-half, Tom Ratcliffe, kicked the conversion. Ben Dyson-Dent was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle and York spent fifteen long minutes inside their own twenty-two before half-time. York defended well and didn’t concede any points. It was 19-7 at the break.

Storm Dennis started with a light drizzle from sparse clouds but the winds brought in some sweeping rain. York had made the most of the calmer weather but the rest of the game would be tough. Scarborough didn’t make many errors. Shane Goulding came on for York. Against the wind, any territory and possession York had in the second half would be precious. And they managed to score. Ross White exposed his ribs to a double tackle and released a pass to Chris Fox who had support, as ever, from Toby Atkin who ran in and scored near to the posts. Liam kicked the conversion and that was York’s bonus point try. Scarborough had a lot of attacking possession and their winger, Jonty Holloway, got them a try. He received the ball at pace and uncovered space in the York defensive line. The conversion was added. Scarborough battled to get back in to the game but York defended well and the home side got a try to close the game. Shane Goulding peeled off the back of a dominant York scrummage to make the final score, York 31 Scarborough 14.

Congratulations to both teams on a good game. Scarborough and York both fought with their full eighteen players. With Cleckheaton losing in Durham, York are now ten points clear at the top of the league with seven games remaining. They have a week off before travelling to Percy Park on Saturday 29th February.