SKIPTON played some good rugby and were effective and tireless in defence, which bodes well for the forthcoming season, but lost out to Ossett who look set to be one of the stronger sides in Yorkshire 3.

A very warm afternoon with temperatures reaching 21 degrees, saw the kick-off go straight out.

Skipton opted for the scrum and gained an early penalty, but the kick at goal drifted wide.

Good work from the re-start by winger ,Joe Stapleton, put his man into touch but nothing resulted for Skipton from the line-out.

A charge down by skipper Hamish Munro at full-back gained Skipton possession and they put the ball through many phases until an Ossett interception ended the move.

Skipton conceded a penalty at the break-down and Ossett slotted the ball to go 3-0 up.

A knock-on from a kick down field gave Ossett a scrum five metres out, and they ran in their first unconverted try to stretch the lead to 8-0.

Skipton came straight back at the home side, pinning them into the corner with three successive line-outs. They gained a scrum on Ossett's line but despite tremendous forward work, the home side kept them out and the sides turned round with Ossett eight points ahead.

Skipton Coach Craig Bartlett brought Chris Wright, Shaun Barraclough and Harry McEneaney into the Skipton pack for the second-half, but an early converted try stretched the home side's lead to 15-0.

Again, Skipton came straight back at Ossett, pushing them back with great interplay between forwards and backs. An excellent penalty chase by young Ben Walker on the wing saw Skipton come close, but handling errors as the game wore on denied Skipton points.

A late converted try against the run of play flattered the home side, as the final whistle blew at 22-0 to Ossett.

Written by: Simion Smith