POCKLINGTON’S defensive frailties were once again exposed as they lost 43-21 to Sandal in North Premier, despite being well in contention for long periods.

With Percy Road frozen over, this was the first game to take place on the club's Kilnwick Park academy ground since 2004.

Sandal struck first, with home advantage blurred, with former Yorkshire cricketer, Greg Wood, putting in a diagonal kick that left his fullback clear to score.

After a Pocklington raid down the right was ended by a poor pass, Sandal showed how it should be done with some slick offloads creating an overlap try on the right.

Pocklington dominated the next 10 minutes, but were wasteful and missed several chances. After a penalty opportunity went wide, Somoan, Fereti Soloa, broke free up the right flank, but lost grip of the ball as he accelerated away.

Soon after, fly-half Jonty Peters also lost the ball trying to find a gap, before Pocklington finally made their pressure count, as Soloa sliced through and hooker Euan Walker supported to plunge over, with Peters converting.

However, the more clinical Sandal pulled away to lead 24-7 at the interval with two converted tries.

Pocklington came again in the second period with wing Jack Walters showing some nice touches in attack and defence.

Ben Rees, Archie Fothergill and Soloa made 40 yards up the middle and Pocklington then threw the kitchen sink at Sandal.

Pocklington smashed their way to the try line seven times, but were denied on each occasion before Walker was able to burrow over for his second try at the side of the posts and Peters converted.

But any thoughts of a Pocklington comeback were swiftly snuffed out as another score for the Sandal centres edged them clear again.

Pocklington then conceded two more poor defensive scores, on one occasion allowing the Sandal scrum-half to skip through unopposed from a scrum, followed by their right wing weaving 80 yards up the flank, to turn a Pock attack into a Sandal try.

To their credit, Pocklington rallied to press again in the closing stages, and from another pack drive, centre Billy Hardy joined his forwards to get the score under a pile of Sandal bodies. Replacement and debutant Christian Pollock, the former Guisborough and Otley three-quarter, converted from wide out.

Pocklington now had the chance to redeem a bonus point with a fourth try, and tried everything to find another breakthrough in the dying seconds, but a couple more penalties on the attack halted their progress and allowed Sandal to clear their lines.

North One East's Malton & Norton's home fixture against Dinnington was called off, as were York against Heath and Selby against Hullensians in Yorkshire One, and York RI's Yorkshire Four fixture against Hessle.