York played host to Old Brods on a Saturday where they needed to improve on last week’s performance and prove to the club, the supporters, the coaches and most importantly, themselves, that they were better than last week’s result. To the player’s credit, they not only got the result but secured the try bonus point.

York kicked off downhill in beautiful winter conditions, bright sunshine and virtually no wind and secured an early chance at points through a penalty. George Davis, playing at fullback for the unavailable Nixon unfortunately pushed the kick wide. As the two sides settled into the game and started to get the measure of each other, penalties and knock-ons by both sides gave position and possession away. Old Brodleians were the first team to get on the score board as York were penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown. The home team had an obvious advantage in the scrum as they managed to push Old Brods off the ball on a number of occasions. When York secured scrum possession on the Old Brods 22m line, they made their advantage tell. Marcus Britland picked the ball up from the base of the scrum and broke decisively towards the line. Unable to make it all the way to the whitewash, Meredith was on hand to receive the pass and score York’s first try. The conversion missed, York had the lead 5 – 3.

York entered a period of strong play and executed some controlled phases of play. They collected the restart and cleared their half efficiently and secured field position deep in the Old Brods half. A turnover by York saw the Captain Fox drive decisively forward and release Atkin. Two more phases and York spun the ball wide. An excellent pass by Watling gave his centre partner Potrykus the ball and space to cross for York’s second try. Davis hit the mark with the conversion to extend the lead to 12 – 3.The remainder of the first half saw both sides exchange a penalty a piece and arm wrestle to gain the advantage. Just before the whistle Kay drew the wrath of the referee’s patience and was given a yellow card for not rolling away. The first period ended York 15, Old Brodleians 6.

Old Brods started the second half the brighter and pushed York close. If it were not for the covering tackle of the ever-reliable Billy, they would have been in for a try within the first real attack. An Old Brods line-out in the red zone saw them catch and drive efficiently and were better than York on this occasion, crossing for a try out wide. Neatly converted, they had closed the gap to 15 – 13. York battled to rebuild their control of the game but turnovers by both sides made it difficult for either side to stamp their authority on the game. For 15 minutes York pushed Old Brods hard; a series of scrums, line-outs and catch and drives were kept out by the visitors. A penalty wide on the right hand side saw York catch and drive their line-out and recycle the ball well. Opportunities on the right-hand side of the pitch exhausted, York moved the ball left and Liam Watling took a ball from a break down and deftly crashed over. Davis was unable to add the extra’s (York 20 – Old Brods 13).

Straight from the re-start it was clear that Old Brods were unwilling to lie down and converted a penalty to claw back 3 points. (20 – 16). York needed to gain control and slow the game but the opposition were committed to fighting to the end. Another penalty given away by York allowed Old Brods to close the gap to just one point and give themselves real motivation. As the game came to a close, York managed to secure a number of scrums close to the line. Neat control by Kay, now moved to Number 8, allowed the scrum to move closer to the line. After Kay’s drive for the score was thwarted, Daz Rutherford took the second drive and scored the all-important fourth try. George Davis got the conversion to move York two scores clear (27 – 19).The final few minutes were a little fraught as York failed to control the ball but the clock was on their side and York had secured the bonus point victory. The players had succeeded in turning around their little spell of uncertainty and secure the win and a much better performance. For this they should be pleased. There were still periods of the game that would have benefited from greater control but overall it was a huge step forward on last week.

Next Saturday York travel away to Bradford Salem for the quarter final of the Yorkshire Shield. For those who will be travelling to Bradford, the kick-off has been moved forward to 2.00 pm.