York Men’s firsts joined Roses rivals Lancaster on 9 points in the BUCS Fencing Northern Conference 1A division after beating them comprehensively in a heated match. York’s Phil Sellars acknowledged the rivalry; arriving with a white rose flag, which he taped to the wall behind the home side’s end of the piste.
First out were the epéeistes, Lancaster’s strongest fencers. The fights were close; Harry Whitwell beat Lancaster captain Sean Macur in the first, but Steven Bainbridge was beaten 6-5 by their anchor, Matt Amlot, in the second. Over the next three, York accrued a 25-16 lead, but were shaken in a surprising sixth bout: York captain Tom Skingle’s performance was offensive and rapid as usual, but Amlot sat back, antagonising him with jibes and joke-techniques, and won ten points, mostly on the counter-attack. Time was called on the next one with Steven Bainbridge 6-4 down, and then the captains drew 6-6, leaving the anchors to fight the final bout with York’s lead reduced to two points. Amlot’s abrasive antics continued, but Whitwell retained composure and won 5-2, to seal a 45-40 victory in the epées, and a +7 indicator for himself.
York were irresistible with sabres in hand and won eight of the nine bouts. Specialist sabreur Tom Jones won his bouts 5-2, 5-0 and 5-4, with a performance on the attacking/aggresive borderline, whether it be due to the teams’ rivalry or Amlot’s arguably disrespectful approach. Adrian Speakman also won all three – his return from injury seems near-complete. The team won 45-25, meaning they only needed 20 points in the foils to secure victory.
The twentieth point was won by Nathan Gibson in the fourth bout, to cheers from his York team-mates, gathered by the white rose. York completed the formalities with little trouble; 45-33 in the foils, 130-98 overall. Captain Tom Skingle hailed a “heroic victory” in which the result reflected his team’s superiority.
Just over halfway through the league season, York have now moved up to second place, three points behind the leaders, Keele, but also only three points ahead of bottom-placed Newcastle and Sheffield in the relegation zone. The men’s firsts have dominated their home matches so far, and they will have a good chance in the six-pointer against Keele, but if they’re to push for promotion, it’s their poor away form that they must strive to improve.