YORK RUFC made it two wins from two this season with an impressive 57-13 victory at North Ribblesdale.

It was the second Yorkshire One game of the campaign for both clubs, with York having won their first game against Beverley and North Ribblesdale having lost at Wheatley Hills.

York named an unchanged starting team. This season, Luke Stockton has joined Chris Fox in the second row and new captain Sam Forbes partners Chris Peace in the centres.

The first 15 minutes of the game were even. There was parity in the scrums and both teams exchanged kicks.

John Dawes at full-back and Liam Hessay at fly-half were both kicking well out of hand. Joe Maud, playing at flanker, and Shane Goulding at number eight both carried the ball forward.

The visitors scored the first try after a quarter of an hour when Daz Rutherford and Fox showed good hands to exploit space on a large blind-side. Fox scored and Dawes kicked the conversion.

York had had the better field position and North Ribblesdale picked up two injuries. Nevertheless, the home team earned two penalties to apply pressure on York’s defence. Michael Thwaite kicked the second penalty.

He added another penalty five minutes later, again, after North Ribblesdale had gained good field position.

George Davies scored the next points of the game – the York winger receiving the ball in space and moving forward in his own half. He was able to advance and put in a well-judged kick, past the final defender, regather comfortably and touch the ball down. Dawes converted the try.

The remaining five minutes of the first half saw North Ribblesdale defending.

Maud, Stockton and Will Atkin combined to advance the ball 50 metres with Atkin eventually being held up a metre short of the try line.

North Ribblesdale defended a York maul from a line-out but, after more pressure, Hessay, Dawes and Atkin linked accurately from a centre-field scrum and Atkin was able to score. Dawes was unlucky with the conversion.

Forbes provided a vocal link between the forwards and the back line, the York defence was organised and Hessay stripped the ball from a North Ribblesdale attacker as the first half closed with the visitors leading 19-6.

York scored their fourth – and bonus point – try early in the second half.

Hessay distributed the ball well to Maud who carried it forward strongly and, after a quick ruck, Shane Goulding scored.

The conversion was missed, but a well executed line-out enabled Maud to get his own (unconverted) try shortly after.

York’s open-side flanker, Lewis Hannibal, picked up a yellow card for a scrum infringement ten metres from the York line, allowing Ribb winger Jake Nowell to chose a good attacking line from a subsequent scrum to score a try for the home team. The conversion was good.

York continued to attack and were held up over the line twice before Goulding fed Toby Atkin from the base of the scrum for the latter to score. The conversion was good.

York’s experience showed in the final ten minutes as they ran in three more tries.

Inside-centre Peace broke a tackle 30 metres out and ran in to score. Fox, Toby Atkin and Dawes combined in space on the short side with Dawes scoring, and finally Stockton scored after linking with Dawes.

All three of the tries were converted with the scores punctured by York’s second yellow card of the game.