FOUR seasons of waiting came to an end as Malton Under-16s finally claimed Yorkshire RFU bowl honours.

They did it by a narrow margin too - an epic battle with Old Brodleians boiling down to two converted penalties and a 6-0 victory.

Beaten by ten points by Old Brods earlier in the season, Malton were full of confidence after their semi-final win over Doncaster as they met their nemesis at Hull Ionians.

They were put under the most immense pressure, conceding two yellow cards and, at one stage, nine consecutive penalties. As hard as they tried, though, their West Yorkshire opponents simply could not break through.

Malton’s best scoring chances came well into the first half. Captain Jamie Knaggs and Josh Spittal surged for the try-line but were tackled just short.

Minutes later, outside centre Cameron Keanurico released winger Josh Wainwright, who just grazed the touchline before stretching for the whitewash.

That long sequence of penalties, some basic errors and Owen Hayhurst in the sin-bin meant Malton were happy to get to the turnaround with the scores still level.

Malton took the lead shortly after the second half got under way. Old Brods were penalised at a lineout and fly-half Rory Talling slotted home the penalty 15 metres in from the touchline.

Talling fed his wide-ranging backline but he also kicked cleverly into the gaps, frustrating Old Brods time and time again as they tried to rush up in defence.

But as the second-half wore on, his half-back partner Henry Hudson really began to shine.

Malton’s forwards began to boss the Old Brods scrum but, as the supporters counted down to full time, Malton survived any number of grim scares, including a second yellow card.

A Talling penalty, the last play of the game, took the score to 6-0 - a tiny margin but a huge win for all at the Gannock club.