BUCS Men’s Rugby: York 1sts 33-15 Loughborough 2nds

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Photos: Jack Western

UYRUFC 1sts earned their first BUCS victory of the season with a stunning performance against Loughborough on 22 Acres.

After losing three on the bounce, the White Rose will be delighted to pick up their first ever victory in the Premier North B Division, but Fraser Kirkley’s side will also be pleased with the manner of their victory, as they ran in five tries of real quality against a strong Loughborough side, who thrashed Sheffield Hallam 49-21 last week.

Wing Conan Osborne celebrated being called up to the Jamaica national team with a brace, and centre Hugo Watson also scored twice to add to Tom Chadwick’s athletic effort, with the fly-half turning in his best performance of the season.

York’s back-row were to be the fulcrum of their success: open-side flanker James Treanor and stand-in captain Adam Gaskell were outstanding in defence, while their ball-carrying was a constant thorn in Loughborough’s side.

Before kick-off, York knew that if they wanted to stay in this division, they needed to start picking up points. A first victory of the season to end a run of three straight defeats promised to be a tough task against an in-form Loughborough side who had beaten them in a pre-season friendly less than a month ago.

And it was the visitors who made the stronger start, forcing the home side deep into their own territory. A series of early scrums led to a penalty for the visitors, which their stand-off duly converted for a 3-0 lead.

Nevertheless, the hosts were unnerved, and came straight back at their opponents with terrific intensity. Winger Osborne and outside-centre Etiene Ekpo-Utip made two explosive runs which Loughborough did well to suppress. An intense period of pressure inside the visitors’ 22 came to nothing as Loughborough were able to clear.

York were not to be denied for long though. The White Rose came again, with prop Rory Mercer making a series of irrepressible carries to make up the yards. The ball found its way to Ekpo-Utip in space, who in turn located Sam Durno. A quick offload to Osborne saw him through, and the wing simply had too much pace as he burned off the Loughborough full-back to go down under the posts. Chadwick added the conversion to make the score line 7-3.

With their opponents rattled, York saw the opportunity to extend their lead. The effervescent Treanor tore through the visitors’ back-line with an excellent line-break. The flanker rode several tackles, and superbly offloaded to Ekpo-Utip, who sprinted up the left side before passing to Chadwick who acrobatically squeezed the ball over in the corner. The fly-half couldn’t add the extras, leaving the scores at 12-3 going into the break.

Buoyant, York sustained their high intensity after the interval, although their strong territorial advantage yielded no further score for the time-being. A mix-up in an otherwise superlative back-line led to a period of Loughborough possession. The visitors failed to capitalise, however, and York stole the ball back. Wing Will Sharp found himself in acres of space with only the full-back to beat, but he chose not to pass to Osborne for what would’ve been a certain try, as he took the ball into contact instead.

The hosts knew that another score would put Loughborough to bed. Flanker Treanor and number eight Gaskell were having stormers in and around the breakdown, and some frantic attacking led to a penalty in a promising position, but Chadwick uncharacteristically missed the target.

Nevertheless, the White Rose soon found themselves with a chance after some poor passing from Loughborough. Dominant scrummaging from the pack sent Hugo Watson away, and the centre rode several challenges to go over the try-line for York’s third try, which, after Chadwick’s conversion, made the scores 19-3.

York were far from finished, as full-back Durno and Gaskell both came close, only to be denied by last-ditch tackles. By now, Loughborough were looking ragged, and injured captain Kirkley scented blood. On came Campbell Paton for Chris Judge in the front-row to give an injection of impetus to the hosts’ attack.

There was a twist, however, as winger Sharp found himself unfairly sin-binned following a baffling refereeing decision after a scuffle. Loughborough were thrown a lifeline to get back into the match with 25 minutes remaining, and they poured men forward. York’s defence was initially resolute, with Mercer further underlining his credentials. Eventually, the visitors found a way through, scoring an unconverted try with five minutes of Sharp’s sin-bin remaining.

With the scores poised at 19-8, fourteen-man York rallied themselves. Yet again, it was Treanor and Gaskell at the centre of their attack, as Osborne went over for his second following a thrilling passage of play, bringing York’s lead up to a seemingly unassailable 26-8 after Chadwick’s conversion.

As Sharp returned, York took their foot off the gas knowing that victory was all but secured, as Loughborough pushed forward for a consolation try.

The away side did score to make the scores 26-15, and an injury to the excellent Treanor slightly marred York’s stunning performance. But this was to be York’s day, as the impressive Osborne intercepted a loose pass at the death to send Watson away into the corner for his second try. An unbelievable kick from Chadwick made the score-line a dominant 33-15 as the final whistle sounded, leaving York to celebrate a magnificent victory to kick-start their season.

After the game, proud captain Kirkley told Vision: “I don’t really know what to say after that. It was a brilliant performance by every single player out there today. Tom Chadwick played his best game of the season, if not last season as well. There were three or four contenders for Man of the Match. Mercer, Treanor, Gaskell and Chadwick were all outstanding today.

“We’re so proud to achieve York’s first ever victory in the Premier Division, and we hope there’s many more to come from here.”