RUNAWAY Yorkshire Two leaders Selby RUFC were given an almighty scare at York RI but powered on in the second half to record a 25-12 victory.

The Railwaymen put in one of their best performances of the season fighting and scrapping in the tight and the loose, while this was probably Selby's worst display of the campaign.

Still smarting from a 14-try drubbing at Selby, RI began keen to show that defeat was a one off. But it was the Sandhill Laners who got on the scoreboard first, driving their way into the 22 before shipping the ball out to the wing for Russ Dovey to dance in.

RI countered well and gained ground with Garrett Mallon prominent, but a lost ball in the tackle allowed Selby to attack and Dave Christison to batter over.

A repeat of the previous contest appeared a formality but RI hit back almost immediately when full-back Ben Hobson took an inside pass from Nick Humphries, side-stepped and raced clear, outpacing the defence to score in the corner.

RI took the lead just before the break, slick passing handing the ball to Hobson who played a one-two with Musgrave, taking the return pass to score under the posts and give RI a 12-10 half-time lead.

Selby started the second with much more resolve and the forwards at last started exercising some control, with strong scrummaging wearing down the opposition forwards.

Powerful Selby back-row Wright Phillips was making inroads into the defence and Selby forced the ball over the line twice in the last quarter allowing the large band of Selby supporters to breathe more easily.

Selby now looked the stronger, despite RI's resistance, and Dovey scored his second try of the day, following another break and offload by Phillips.