With important league games coming up, York RI decided to give players carrying knocks a rest and they paid the penalty as they lost 48-0 to a fluent Barnsley side in the Powergen Junior Cup.

RI opened up brightly and took the game to the visitors, Hardman, Mallon and Ashman making ground with a series of drives that had the visitors' defence at full stretch.

However, all the effort came to nothing and Barnsley began to take control. They opened the scoring on the half hour when winger Cheetham used his electric speed to outstrip the home defence and score in the corner.

Three more tries in the final minutes of the first half left RI 24-0 down and with a mountain to climb.

The second half mirrored the first with RI more than holding their own in the forwards but unable to cope with Barnsley's pace in the backs, especially on the wing.

Four second half tries, two of which were converted, saw RI well beaten.

Updated: 11:10 Monday, October 17, 2005