TEAMS from the University of York returned to British Universities and College Sport (BUCS) action with a fantastic series of results, writes Alex McDonald.

The week was dominated by the rugby union sides, led by the men’s first XV who defeated Sheffield Hallam firsts 34-10 in a bonus point win which goes a long way towards their goal of avoiding relegation.

First-half tries from centre Conan Osbourne and lock Mike Woods put York in a strong position before Sheffield briefly threatened a fightback.

However, York bagged three tries in the final quarter from centre Hugo Watson, scrum-half Luke Cunnah and Osborne, after a brilliant scything run from Tomasz Chadwick carved open the Hallam defence.

There was another strong performance from the women’s first XV, who continued their fantastic season by thrashing Hull 52-0. Hull were unable to match York’s pace around the park or ferocity at the breakdown as the Heslington outfit maintained their flawless record this year.

They are top of the league with a staggering points difference of plus-296 after only seven matches. Next week they face a title decider against Durham seconds, with the winner certain of promotion to BUCS Northern League 1B.

There was less good news in the hockey, where the men’s firsts suffered an 8-3 cup defeat by a strong Leeds seconds side. First blood went to Leeds after ten minutes.

Following an interception in the middle of the pitch, they broke downfield before a stunning strike left York goalkeeper Callum Chaundy caught off his line. That was quickly followed by a reverse stick finish to put York 2-0 down.

Leeds’ short, quick passing across the pitch left York unable to gather and maintain possession long enough to cause any damage. In a matter of minutes, Leeds extended their lead to 4-0 following a deflection in the ‘D’ and another shot from the top of the ‘D’.

York began to find their rhythm, but not before Leeds had scored another following a solo run from their holding midfielder. York opened their account with a scorching shot from Hugo Christie, running at full pelt.

The match turned into a fraught affair during the second half, with tackles coming in harder and both sides receiving yellow cards. Leeds were able to maintain their dominance and extend their lead to 8-1, before two late short corners were excellently converted by York man-of-the-match Christie.

His hat-trick went some way to sparing the blushes of the home side.