IT was comfortable enough but the result should have been more comprehensive.

York City Knights won 44-12 at London Skolars on Saturday, but on the down side they bombed countless opportunities and conceded a couple of soft tries.

Against better teams this could have been costly but, given the Knights’ superiority against a rather brittle London side, it mattered little and the three points taken from The Stoop lifted them to fourth in Championship One – although only briefly as Rochdale went back above them yesterday after a surprise victory over Hunslet.

The Hornets and third-placed Blackpool also have games in hand, but given the Knights are odds-on to take maximum points from their next outing, to Gateshead, and given Blackpool have a few off-field issues which could translate onto the pitch, then there remains hope James Ratcliffe’s men can yet squeeze into the top three and earn that easier play-off route.

In-form Rochdale, however, appear hard to catch and they also have a far better points-difference – something the Knights will be hoping does not come into play, especially after missing the chance to do their own many favours.

They made countless line breaks on Saturday, saw a number of two-on-ones go begging, and had a few tries disallowed.

Maybe complacency came into play after they had scored at more than a point per minute early on.

Lee Waterman powered over, then winger Dennis Tuffour streaked up to take the scoring pass after Luke Hardbottle’s fine ball had put Jack Lee in the clear, and then Lee himself got on the scoresheet after a runaround move with Hardbottle, whose return offload was exquisite. Waterman missed the first two conversions but then got his act together, ending with six.

Tuffour – the Londoner who began his career with the Skolars before moving on to Harlequins then Hull – along with Hardbottle and Lee, had been the standout player in that opening quarter.

However, reflecting the side as a whole, Hardbottle’s clinical performance dropped off, and Tuffour, the star turn throughout the first half, had a bit of a nightmare in the second.

Lee, though, stayed in top gear for the 80 minutes and was a clear man of the match.

He played at stand-off in place of Chris Thorman, who, unbeknown to most, had not trained all week after he tweaked his troublesome quad at Keighley last Sunday. He should be okay to return for the Gateshead game in a fortnight – assuming he gets back in, that is.

Lee’s running game from stand-off gave the side a different dimension, and was at the hub of many good things, his numerous breaks upfield suggesting he could shine just as brightly in that role as he has done at hooker.

The Knights should have scored again when his half-back partner, Danny Ratcliffe, smartly surged through a gap but he delayed his pass and was tackled from behind by Ade Adebisi, unaware the former Whitehaven winger was on his tail.

Adebisi then showed his class at the other end, stepping Tom Lineham too easily and brushing off full-back Danny Wilson’s weak tackle, and Paul Thorman goaled.

Thorman, making his 100th appearance for the Londoners since joining from York, had a decent game at scrum-half, while younger brother Neil, another ex-Knight and recent target, showed classy touches at full-back albeit without ever threatening. It was a shame big brother Chris could not play against them.

Tuffour hit back quickly with a superb solo try on his old stomping ground, breaking through ten metres from his own line and sprinting home for a 20-6 lead after 20 minutes. But that’s how the scoreline stayed until half-time.

Skolars had a try ruled out by a touch judge, and Ratcliffe suffered the same fate at the other end, both controversially for knock-ons, as did Matt Duckworth when picking up a Hardbottle offload which went to ground. Hardbottle also spilled another chance after a Tuffour run.

If the Knights were told at half-time to be more clinical, then it appeared they had listened when Brett Waller’s superb offload saw Lee score again within two minutes. Then, in their next attack, Lee’s wonderful weaving run saw Casey Bromilow – back as substitute hooker – throw out a showboat pass for Ratcliffe to get his try.

Tuffour was also denied a hat-trick chance when, having picked up a loose ball with an empty field ahead, he was hauled back by referee Jamie Leahy for a York scrum.

But, with the game won, concentration levels again dropped and, after one of a few second-half bloopers by Tuffour had put his team in bother, Paul Thorman strolled through a gigantic gap and goaled.

Another brilliant break by Lee saw Wilson score, but otherwise the second half flattered to deceive, Skolars having another try ruled out, before it all ended back on a high as a stunning offload by Jack Stearman sent in Ratcliffe.

• Former Knights loanee Luke Ambler and hooker Paul McShane, a loan target for the Knights, both scored tries as an understrength Leeds Rhinos beat Harlequins 42-22 at The Stoop, following York’s win over the Skolars.

Lee Smith bagged a hat-trick plus seven goals.


Match facts

Skolars: N Thorman, Aggrey, Paxton, Gee, Adebisi, Jy Coleman, P Thorman, Sykes, Honor, Purslow, Ball, Hodson, Boston.

Subs (all used): Simon, Jones, Prescott, Bloom.

Tries: Adebisi 16; P Thorman 56.

Conversions: P Thorman 16, 56.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.


Knights: Wilson 6, Tuffour 7, Mitchell 6, Waterman 6, Lineham 5, Lee 8, Ratcliffe 7, Freer 7, Williams 6, Benson 7, Ross 7, Duckworth 6, Hardbottle 6.

Subs (all used): Bromilow 6, Waller 6, Lewis 6, Stearman 7.

Tries: Waterman 5; Tuffour 8, 20; Lee 12, 42; Ratcliffe 45, 79; Wilson 64.

Conversions: Waterman 12, 20, 42, 45, 64, 79.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.


Man of the match: Jack Lee – the hooker took over at stand-off and revelled in the space afforded him, making numberous line breaks and surges upfield, setting up tries and scoring two of his own.

Referee: Jamie Leahy (Dewsbury) – aside from controversially ruling out a Danny Ratcliffe try on the advice of a touch judge, and calling back Dennis Tuffour who had picked up a Skolars knock-on with the chance to streak away for his hat-trick, he was okay.

Penalty count: 8-3.

Weather watch: pleasant, almost perfect for rugby.

Half-time: 6-20.

Attendance: 4,117 (including for Quins v Leeds which followed).

Moment of the match: not necessarilty in keeping with a second half which petered out amid missed opportunities, Jack Stearman got out a wonderful offload when falling in the tackle for Danny Ratcliffe to streak home to end the scoring in the last minute.

Gaffe of the match: Dennis Tuffour was stripped of the ball one-on-one in his own half and, while Danny Wilson covered back to tackle, the defence was at sixes and sevens and Paul Thorman strolled in.

Game-breaker: York’s three tries in the first 12 minutes left no one in doubt as to where the points were going.

Match rating: A little frustrating in that some excellent rugby in perfect conditions was mixed with wastefulness caused by complacency.