THE University of York's teams continued their push towards the top 40 in the national rankings after the latest round of British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) fixtures, writes Dan Holland.

The most exciting, and certainly nerve-racking, game of the day came in the men’s rugby firsts’ clash with Liverpool.

York eventually ran out 31-27 victors, but it should have been far simpler for the home side, who are flying in the league with four wins from their opening five games.

The White Rose had led 31-10 midway through the second half, but saw two players sin-binned in the closing stages and just managed to cling on to a valuable three points in their quest for promotion.

Tries from Will Sharp, Conan Osborne, Hugo Watson and Hugh Draycott were just reward for a scintillating attacking performance in the opening 50 minutes.

But as Will Peters and Fraser Kirkley both fell foul of some questionable refereeing decisions, the Merseysiders were handed a way back into the match and, had it not been for some wayward kicking on their part, could have easily won.

Watching from the sidelines, injured captain Sam Lord said: “It was a great win but we made it far too hard for ourselves.

“The guys might feel hard done by because of the referee, but I think we need to look at ourselves. We need to stop letting teams come back into the match that easily.”

The majority of York’s teams found themselves in cup action, including the men’s hockey firsts, who demolished a hapless Hull side 8-2 on the artificial turf.

Goals from Dougie McAteer, Kris Siva (2), Laurie Torrington (2), Phil Ratcliff, Tom Armston-Clarke, and Phil Blackburn gave the hosts a comfortable advance to the next round.

The men in black and gold were 4-0 up at the break, and although their Humberside opponents managed two goals the result was never in doubt.

Despite suffering defeat at the hands of Sheffield Hallam University, the University netball firsts could hold their heads high as they pushed a team two divisions above them all the way.

They were on the wrong end of a 43-29 scoreline at full-time, but were only two points behind at the half-way mark – the solid defence of Nina Pullman and Lottie Knight keeping the visitors within reach.

Amy Moye and Emma Griffiths did all they could to ensure York were in with a chance, producing some deadly accurate shooting, but the opposition’s quality ultimately proved too much.

There was better news for the men’s badminton firsts, as they edged a tight contest 5-3 with Teesside to book their place in the last 16 of the cup.

The displays of the ever-impressive doubles pairings were enough to send the visitors back to Middlesbrough empty-handed.

The men’s volleyball match that followed in the sports hall, however, was less enjoyable for York. They surrendered a first-set lead to lose 3-1 to Northumbria.

Meanwhile, there were mixed fortunes on the road for the men’s and women’s football teams.

The men went down 3-1 at Leeds Trinity, but the women continued their free-scoring form as they won 7-4 in Sheffield – that’s 31 goals in just four games this season.