Majestic Malton

Pat Stephenson's heroes became the first side to bring the Tetley's Bitter Vase to North Yorkshire with a thumping 36-20 triumph.

Roared on by their mini-army of fans, the men from The Gannock produced some dazzling running rugby that made their Merseyside opponents look leaden-footed in comparison.

Centre Tim Chapman broke Hoylake's spirit with a hat-trick of first-half tries on rugby's greatest stage.

While Chapman provided the finishing, the architect of a brilliant all-round team performance was skipper Chris Creber.

The Australian-born pocket-rocket stand-off cut Hoylake to ribbons with his quick, elusive running and wide range of passing.

He had a hand in five of Malton's tries as his side dominated all but the opening and closing stages of a fine match which was a credit to junior club rugby.

Both sides lined up side by side to the strains of the hymn 'Jerusalem' while their fans created a tremendous atmosphere in the cavernous 75,000-capacity stadium.

Hoylake had the better of the early exchanges and it needed some crunching tackles in midfield to keep them at bay.

But Malton soon announced that they intended to run the ball at every opportunity. They were penned in 15 yards in front of their own posts when Chapman ignored the easy option of a clearing kick, side-stepped past an opponent and set up a thrilling counter-attack which ended on the half-way line.

Having made their intentions clear, Malton made the first breakthrough after ten minutes when they engineered an overlap for Creber to send in his fellow Terrington Hall School teacher Chapman from 25 yards.

Andy Newsome kicked the conversion and within minutes Malton were on the attack again as Creber's pace took him through Hoylake's backline, but he was well tackled by full-back Rich Young as he looked for support.

Malton continued to flow forward and both Arthur Wilson and Chapman were a fingertip away from collecting passes with the Hoylake ranks split wide open.

Hoylake got a foothold in the game after half an hour when Malton were caught offside and Andy Cotgrave slotted over a penalty.

But that was only a minor blip as the quicksilver Creber immediately sent Chapman in for his seond try.

Newsome's conversion stretched 'Malt's' lead to 14-3 and they almost went further ahead when Nick Tyson was held just short of the line by Trevor Boult. Malton were quick to regain possession and Creber span out another pin-point pass to Chapman who surged over for his hat-trick try - his second successive treble following his three tries in last week's Yorkshire Three victory over Skipton.

Malton, whose forwards built a great platform on which their backs could display their handling and running skills, were looking a cut above Hoylake. They were quicker in thought and deed and were well-organised on the few occasions they had to defend.

Stephenson made three changes at half-time and while they were adjusting, Hoylake's No 8, Rob Kurton, crashed over from close range and Cotgrave added the conversion to trim Malton's lead to 19-10.

It was to prove a false dawn for the Merseysiders as Malton roared back with two tries in nine minutes by Ian Cooke, both following terrific breaks by substitute Ian Mansell down the left wing.

At 29-10 down Hoylake were forced to throw the ball around in an effort to get back in the game and it needed a great tackle by Chapman to nail his opposite number, John Howell, to prevent a score.

But Hoylake were looking well beaten and ten minutes from time any hope they had of pulling off a miracle escape was killed off by another exciting Creber thrust. Even with four firemen in their squad, Hoylake simply found him too hot to handle. He was collared about 30 yards from the Hoylake line, but from the resulting maul another of Malton's subs, Phil Ryan, picked up and stormed through a gaping hole to gallop in under the posts, leaving Newsome an easy conversion which put Malton 36-10 and out of sight.

With the game effectively over, both sides made a flurry of changes to ensure each member of their squad got a taste of the action. One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon by Malton's fans, who outnumbered their Hoylake rivals three to one, greeted 46-year-old Steve Riddolls, a legend in North Yorkshire rugby circles, as he stepped on to the sacred turf.

Even the arrival of a slippery Hoylake streaker couldn't spoil Malton's big day although former Warrington and Lancashire Lynx rugby league player Neil Parsley did get over for a couple of tries in the dying embers of the game.

That reduced Malton's margin of victory to 16 points but, in truth, Malton were worthy of a much bigger win, turning in a champagne performance on the greatest day in the club's 48-year history.

Another large crowd will welcome them at The Gannock on Wednesday night when they tackle Sheffield Tigers, last year's Tetley Vase winners, in the semi-final of the Yorkshire Shield.

But no matter what happens in that game, Saturday, April 21, 2001 will live long in the memory of Ryedale sporting folk.

Malton and Norton: Ian Cooke, Arthur Wilson (Liam Harvey 77), Tim Chapman, Nick Tyson, Neil Gilbertson (Ian Mansell HT); Chris Creber, Andy Newsome; Carl Rushworth, Steve Hayhurst (Richard Ellis 77), Tom Eddy (Steve Riddolls 77); Tim Casey, Jim Fisher, Dave Knaggs (Ed Gwilliam HT), David Cooke, Richard Webster (Phil Ryan HT).

Tries: Chapman 3, I Cooke 2, Ryan. Cons: Newsome 3.

Hoylake: Rich Young, Trevor Boult (Dan Baldock 65), John Howell, Neil Parsley, Ben Flint; Andy Cotgrave (Simon Robinson 45), Paul Kay (capt); Steve Butterworth, Joe Skinner, Dan Miller (Tony Forbes 74), John McNeill (Danny Gleeson 45), Andy Fielding (Graham Wynn 74), Michael Young, Brian Davies (Martin Williams 45), Rob Kurton.

Tries: Parsley 2, Kurton. Con: Cotgrave. Pen: Cotgrave.

Referee: David May (Cornwall).

Attendance: 4,000 (estimated).

Updated: 12:52 Monday, April 23, 2001