YORK Acorn gained amateur rugby league bragging rights in the Minster city as their 'A' team beat neighbours Heworth 26-6 in their opening game of the Yorkshire Men's League season.

As reported, Acorn's first team began their National Conference League premier division campaign in defeat to Lock Lane but it was all smiles for their reserves as they saw off their cross-city rivals in their Forty-20 Cup group-stage opener, this competition taking place before league fixtures begin.

Premier division side Acorn - favourites against division one Heworth, and seeking their fourth straight Forty-20 Cup final - fielded a strong team with a fair amount of first-team experience, and in the end they proved too quick for their battling visitors.

Coach Leigh Paul-Rientoul admitted some degree of relief at the final whistle.

"I was a bit worried I might get egg on my face after what I said in The Press about wanting to 'shut people up' with a good performance," he smiled.

"I was pretty happy with our display. We were just a bit quicker than them around the ruck especially - they still had defenders on the floor and we'd played the ball and were away.

"The most annoying thing for me was the fact we didn't nil them. Our full-back got held up in-goal and tried to force a pass out but the ball went to ground and their lad touched it down."

That try, however, came with Acorn already 26-0 up and the game won.

They had taken the lead on nine minutes through veteran stand-off Andy Gargan, Matt Chilton converting.

Back-rower Chris Rushworth doubled the lead midway through the half, Chilton's goal making it 12-0 at the break.

Four minutes into the second half, winger Luke Swales crossed, then substitute Johnny Waldron, formerly a record try-scorer at Thanet Road, crossed the whitewash twice in as many minutes to take his side further clear, Chilton adding one conversion.

Prop Adam Endersby, erstwhile of the first team, was Acorn's man of the match.

York Lokomotive got off to a winning start with a fine 28-22 victory over Featherstone Lions 'A'.

Lokos' Knavesmire pitch was unplayable so the game was switched to Featherstone.

The team nevertheless began well, sticking to the structures outlined by new coaches Dean Thomas and Mick Hagan, and went 14-0 up.

However, that gave them a false sense of security and they were made to pay for trying to be too fancy, the Lions storming back to take an 18-14 interval lead.

Lokos got back into the arm wrestle on the resumption, having reverted to the game-plan, and it paid off as they won the second half to take the spoils, prop Ryan Price arguably the standout performer.

Lokos' tries on the day came from second-row Mark Musgrave (2), Jeremy Johnson, Spain international Chris Lopez, the former York RUFC player, and loose-forward Liam Watling.

Tom Dunmore added four goals - taking his career club tally passed the 500 mark.