York Railway Institute 13 Skipton 23

BREEZY but dry and exceptionally mild conditions greeted the sides at Acomb for Skipton's last Yorkshire Division Four encounter before the Christmas break.

The home side fielded a heavy pack which Skipton struggled to cope with in the early exchanges, but excellent striking of the ball in the scrums by skipper Chris Sheehan supplied their backs with ample possession.

A last pass knock-on denied centre Luke Stockton an early try following a break by full back Matty Langstaff, but a penalty to Skipton for a high tackle allowed Langstaff to open the scoring with a sweetly taken kick.

An exchange of penalties after the restart resulted in a long-range kick into the corner by York RI. A rolling maul from the line-out brought a converted try which gave them the lead.

This was never going to be an easy encounter for Skipton and their cause was not helped when second row Aaron Walker had to leave the field with a dislocated shoulder.

Skipton were then penalised twice before half-time with both attempts at goal being successful to give the home side a 13-3 lead at the break.

Langstaff reduced the deficit early in the second half with a penalty goal and following an explosive run, he put centre Jon Currie in for Skipton's first try.

Skipton's superior fitness began to tell as the second half wore on and their forwards took control of the set piece play.

An excellent rolling maul from a line-out put No 8 Ben Hall over for an unconverted try as the visitors regained the lead.

Skipton then launched wave after wave of attack on the home side's line as the minutes ticked down. Forward Harry McEneaney was unlucky not to go over following a superb individual kick and chase. On the stroke of full time winger Hamish Munro ran in Skipton's third try. Langstaff converted as the darkness descended to secure another victory for a Skipton side that is improving under the guidance of new coach Dave Duxbury.