HOME fires burned brightly for the York duo who shone in Great Britain's masters rugby league test match against their Australian counterparts at Heworth ARLC.

Former York City Knights and Heworth prop Dan Briggs, playing on his old Elmpark Way stomping ground, scored one of the tries, while both he and fellow forward Simon Moat, the former Southlands ARLC veteran and current York Lokomotives ARLC chairman, were named men of the match.

Masters RL is for players aged 35 and over, with rules on tackling dependant on the age of the ball carrier, denoted by what colour shorts they wear. The oldest players here, Vic Logan from Barrow and the tourists' Laurie Walker, were 71 and 73 respectively.

Organisers hailed the occasion a resounding success as a bumper crowd of several hundred, including the Lord Mayor of York Dave Taylor, turned out for the game, with the result as usual being deemed a 0-0 draw as per masters rules.

This test match followed a curtain-raiser between Heworth Masters and a Chairman’s Select XIII.

GB team manager Kath Wilson said: "It was a fantastic day. Both games went off without a hitch. Where masters rugby league is concerned we have no winners and losers but the GB v Australia match was fantastic.

"The whole day went swimmingly and everyone was raving about it."

Meanwhile, Moat's York Lokos team continue their Yorkshire Men's League division three campaign on Saturday at fellow strugglers Allerton Bywater needing victory to climb off the foot of the table.

Heworth are without a fixture in division one, likewise York Acorn in the National Conference League - they have two weeks off before a crucial relegation four-pointer at Egrement in which defeat could see the Blue and Golds relegated.

Acorn 'A' were in action in the YML premier division last night at Doncaster Toll Bar and they travel to Illingworth on Saturday, with a few first-teamers likely to get a run-out. They need points to climb away from the drop zone.