Pocklington 24 - 5 York RI
On a day when
an Eskimo would have stayed in his igloo the Panthers put on an enterprising display
in the cold, wet and gloom of Percy Road.
It was a well contested encounter
which the Panthers dominated territorially but found stern resistance from RI's
well organized defence. The Panthers got the boost of a score in the first quarter
when celebrity scrum half Jonjo Sanderson galloped over for a trademark try which
Mark Stringer converted with one of his drop goal specials.
As is got darker
and wetter the Panthers remained on the offensive with front row forwards Yoshi
Morrells and Ben Britton leading from the front. On the half hour centre Guy Wilson
went into a maul to get warm, the pack started up a rolling maul and Wilson stuck
around with his new forward friends to roll off and score.
But York RI also
had their offensive moments with a couple of dangerous runners, and it took the
Panthers until midway through the second half to put the game to bed.
They
pulled clear with two tries in quick succession as back row Phil Drew powered
over from close range after dispossessing a visiting scrum, and hooker Britton
jubilantly claimed his first try since his mini rugby days in Barnsley when he
finished off an unstoppable 40 yard drive from the Panthers pack, Stringer adding
another drop goal conversion.
As the conditions deteriorated and hypothermia
started to set in, York RI stuck at it and gained their reward with the final
score of the day. The referee duly brought an end to proceedings and the players
had one final burst of activity with a race for the warmth of the changing rooms
- the shivering, attenuated Mike Kemp showing extreme motivation and electric
pace to win it by yards.