YORK RUFC unearthed a fine prospect in hooker Andy Rowson in their 27-11 defeat at Yorkshire One champions Sheffield Tigers.

A product of the Colts system, Rowson gave a great display with tenacious tackling, some good breaks and excellent throwing-in.

The match was tight for the first 20 minutes before Tigers, who have only lost one league game all season, scored through winger Brian Loftus when they outnumbered York on the blindside.

An Ian Bartlett penalty brought York back in contention and after excellent work by Sam Arkle his co-centre Phil Littlehales scored a try to put York ahead.

However, Tigers held the upper hand in the back row where they proved really strong and by half-time got their noses in front with a try and a John Storey penalty.

The match continued to be tight until the last quarter when Sheffield started to pull away as the York pack tired and the home side ran in tries by Paul Hirst and Rob Pound.

Updated: 10:49 Monday, April 24, 2006