MARK CAIN had hoped his band of old pros and local amateurs would give York City Knights a good game - and they didn't let him down.

The Knights, as fans would probably expect and hope, won Cain's testimonial match, but the York All Stars - as they were called on the day - didn't half do their bit on an afternoon that went as well as the man of the moment could have wished.

The sun shone and even the wind died down as nearly 1,000 people turned out to honour Cain, who is retiring from rugby league due to injury.

They were treated to a game that could feasibly have gone either way before ending 38-32.

Of course, many of the old players wouldn't be fit enough to play professionally nowadays, but, playing in stints thanks to the unlimited rotation of subs, they were able to keep the pace and they arguably played the more expansive rugby.

Furthermore, playing with a freedom befitting these games, they could exhibit an array of skills and prove they still knew what they were doing, despite, for many of them, a lack of training in recent times.

Several of the old tricks came out, including the one where they sneak extra players onto the pitch late in the game.

Prop Lea Tichener even used the old ploy of pretending to be concussed in order to get a breather on the bench!

On top of this, local ref Steve Wox added to the entertainment at times, albeit unwittingly with some bizarre decisions.

The current Knights team might have wanted a bigger winning margin, but no-one should read too much into a game of this nature.

They were given an early warning of what they were up against as Craig Forsyth - who seemed to get an off-load out every time he took the ball up - and Lee Jackson nearly created an opening for Rich Hayes.

It became more than a warning when more brilliance from the mercurial Jackson and Paul Darley saw full-back Chris Smith burst through, brush off old mate Alex Godfrey and score.

The celebration - all the players sat in a line as if rowing a boat - was even better.

New Knights signing Ian Brown showed the fans what they could expect this season with two quick tries, the second after a fine run by Dave Buckley.

But another fine run from Smith set up the position for Darren Callaghan to get over from acting-half.

Dan Potter finished well for the Knights and John Smith marked his return from a lengthy lay-off with a solo try minutes after coming on.

But flying Fijian Rob Kama picked off an Andy Gargan pass and was never going to be caught, and, at the start of the second half, the All Stars were ahead as Jackson put Mike Embleton in.

Barring the Kama interception, Gargan played well at scrum-half and it was his break which saw Brown sprint away for his hat-trick, before George Rayner, with his first touch, scored the try of the game - only for it to be ruled out for crossing.

Gargan then dummied his way over before his fellow recruit from York Acorn, the speedy Johnny Waldron, twice showed his finishing prowess.

The game finished with smiles all round as kitman Steve Bomber' Harris came on for the All Stars and duly booted a conversion following a trademark try from dummy-half by Alan Pallister. And they had at least 17 players on at the end when Embleton crossed after the hooter to round off the scoring.


Match facts

Knights: Alex Godfrey, Lee Mapals, Dan Potter, Johnny Waldron, Jon Liddell, Andy Gargan, Liam Watling, Jason Ramshaw, Toby Williams, Dave Buckley, Mark Spurr, Ryan Esders. Subs (all used): Stephen Grundy, John Smith, Ryan McDonald, Adam Sullivan, George Rayner, Kyle Palmer.

Tries: Brown 16, 21, 46; Potter 29; J Smith 34; Gargan 56; Waldron 67, 71. Conversions: Gargan 21, 34, 46.

Select XIII: Chris Smith, Rob Kama, Mike Embleton, Gareth Lloyd, Danny Liddell, Darren Callaghan, Ben Jones, Craig Forsyth, Lee Jackson, Lea Tichener, Mick Ramsden, Rich Hayes, Paul Darley. Subs (all used): Matt Embleton, Alan Willitts, Alan Pallister, Jimmy Morrow, Dan Briggs, Steve Hill, Andy Precious, Tom Hodgson, Steve Perks.

Tries: C Smith 13; Callaghan 25; Kama 36; Mike Embleton 43, 81; Pallister 75. Conversions: Jones 13, 36, 43; Harris 75.

Referee: Steve Wox (York).

Attendance: 920.