Rugby Men’s 1sts - York 16-8 St John
In a scrappy game an abler University of York side were eventually able to triumph over their city rivals, but made very hard work of it. In the early stages York spent a lot of time defending their own 5m line, but did so brilliantly, with only a hint of luck. A stunning free flowing counter-attack gave the home side a 5-0 lead, yet this trend did not continue. Soon St. John hit back with a penalty, but York ran at them again and gained one of their own. With the visitors missing a long range effort just before the break, it was 8-3 at halftime.
The second half was very open indeed, with a lot of good running from both sides, but numerous penalties meant for very poor ball retention. This frustration inevitably boiled over and there was a fight for the occasion, though a very small one. York capitalised on the visitors’ loss of concentration after this, and scored in the right hand corner following a great move involving the whole team. A dropkick from open play seemed to seal the game, making it 16-3 to York. But St. John were not yet defeated, and scored an excellent try of their own after intense pressure on the York 10m line.
Time was against the comeback though, and the game finished 16-8. As winning captain Paul Goodall said, “A win is a win, but we didn’t exactly make it pretty.”
