YORK Acorn have boosted their push for promotion in the National Conference by signing three players from neighbours York RUFC.

Significantly, Gareth Singleton, Joe Maud, and Chris Fox have arrived as Acorn prepare for back-to-back games against the top two clubs in the table - Hunslet Club Parkside and Underbank Rangers.

Victories in these next two games could be a major boost for Acorn who are currently sixth in the division one table and eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places.

Singleton, who has played previously for Acorn, is an outside centre for York RUFC.

Maud, who played rugby league with New Earswick All Blacks as a youngster, now plays openside flanker and is likely to be used as a back or second rower.

Fox, meanwhile, is York RUFC’s captain and is expected to play as a prop during his introduction to amateur rugby league.

Coach Leigh Paul-Rientoul said: “The lads have been training with us for the last couple of weeks and, although they are still not up to speed with some of our moves, they could prove to be good additions over the next few weeks.”

Acorn have not played since suffering a shock defeat against bottom of the table Featherstone Lions two weeks ago when Paul-Rientoul and a trio of players were on ‘representative duty’ with the York and District ARL.

Karl Harton, Brandon Harris, Matt Chilton and Ben Cooper are now back in contention but Acorn are still missing a number of key players this weekend.

Centre Josh Thompson is on holiday, loose forward Elliott Bulmer is unavailable, and leading try scorer Ryan Gallacher has suffered an ankle injury on his return from a month’s holiday absence.

Centre Matthew Woods may also miss out pending the outcome of an appeal against a red card three weeks ago.

Paul-Rientoul is under no illusions about the size of the task facing Acorn on Saturday, describing the trip to Hunslet as his side’s ‘toughest game of the season’.

For Hunslet have won their last seven games and are now level on points with leaders Underbank.

“We have reached the halfway stage of the season and we have had a very tough start,” he admitted.

“But we have been getting better over the last couple of months and we have shown that we can compete.

“The aim now is to have a better second half of the season,” he said. “If we can do that it should be happy days.

“At the moment, we are sixth and our main aim is finish third or fourth to get home advantage in the play-offs,” he added.

“But if we can beat these so-called ‘big guns’ over the next fortnight, why not aim even higher?”

York Acorn ‘A’, meanwhile, host Mirfield Stags this weekend in the Yorkshire Men’s League division one.

Acorn are still without a point at the bottom of the table and have suffered the frustration of three consecutive postponements.

The Stags have picked up six points from eight games and are two places higher up the table.