YORK City Knights have secured a place in the Under-20s Championship play-offs, it has now been confirmed.

The club needed league chiefs to hand them the win for a match forfeited by Rochdale in order for James Ford’s young guns to be certain of finishing above Leigh Centurions in third place in the merit table.

Placings are determined on win percentage and Leigh – who drew with Featherstone in their last match while the Knights were losing to a last-ditch penalty at Oldham – would have finished above York if draws count as “half a win” and if the Knights’ match against Dale, called off by the visitors, had not counted.

But York have been given the win, having done all they could to get the game on, and the Rugby Football League have confirmed they have finished third. Their win percentage is 66.67, while Leigh's is 65.79.

Ford and co now go to second-placed Featherstone U20s next week on a date to be decided for the right to meet league leaders Salford in the final.