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Photo: Nicole Sorlie
UYRUFC 2nd XV made the rest of the club wait to the very last to celebrate a fifth straight Roses whitewash, as they came from behind to cling on and claim a 15-12 victory, all their points coming from the boot of fly-half Ed Harris.
As the ball was booted into touch after the 80 minutes were up the watching club members erupted into huge cheering, charging onto the pitch in what was a mixture of jubilation and relief.
This was a game that had been far more even than the two that preceded it. The 3rd XV had dominated on the very same pitch just beforehand, and all the pressure was on the 2nds to seal a historic win.
Whilst, by their own admission, they did not have their best game of the season, they certainly showed nerve. Harris in particular was ice cool – as he lined up the late penalty that gave York a 15-12 advantage, he never looked like missing.
His kicking was the difference in a game dominated by ill-discipline at the breakdown. In was clear from the early stages that the referee would be quick to penalise the slightest mistake in that area, and it proved the downfall of both sides’ attacks.
Thankfully for York, it was Lancaster who paid the full price. Whilst the white rose’s inability to score a try was down to their attacks being broken down by the whistle, Lancaster conceded penalites in the vital areas, and it meant their two tries counted for nothing come full-time.
York led seven minutes in through a long range Harris effort before Lancaster hit back with a try just four minutes later.
It was the first time this weekend that a Lancaster men’s rugby side had led a game, and it came via the blistering pace of their left winger.
A tap penalty was spread wide and the number 11 stormed past the helpless York defence to go over in the corner. An excellent conversion made it 7-3.
It was a combination of Harris’ boot and the strong running of Sam Morrison than gave York the upper hand for the following five minutes.
They picked up another three points when Harris slotted from a fairly central position, before Lancaster missed a chance to restore their four point lead
Their left winger broke through the York defence and was tackled well by full-back Stu Duncan. Lancaster won a penalty at the breakdown, but their fly-half dragged it wide and kept York within one point.
It had been a fairly ill-tempered opening, and it finally boiled over when one player from each side was sin-binned for fighting, Rory Mercer being shown the card for York, despite retaliating to a bite. Cue chants of “Luis Suarez” from the York support.
York’s attacks continued to be thwarted by ill-discipline – a great burst from Woods came to nothing, and after a period of intense Lancaster pressure, the red rose scored their second try just after the half-hour mark.
A clearing kick from Harris was charged down and Lancaster took full advantage, touching down to the dismay of the York fly-half. A missed conversion left the scores at 12-6.
Another penalty pulled it back to 12-9 at half-time, and with 40 minutes to go, everything was hanging in the balance – not just this result, but UYRUFC’s whitwash.
The club were becoming agitated on the sidelines, but a solid second half performance had allayed their fears by the end. A defeat here would have , in part, undone all the hard work of the 1sts and 3rds in their earlier games, but the Lancaster attack were totally shut out in the second period, as York racked up the six points they required to win
Both sides were again reduced to 14 10 minutes into the half when another fight broke out, Jack O’Connell being sent to the sideline for York.
Whilst Lancaster were keen for a fight, they were not in control of the match. An excellent break from Guy Skivington and a combination with Brent Lee set York up in the Lancaster 22, and they won a penalty. Harris made no mistake in levelling the scores.
They nearly and the lead minutes later, only for a rare Harris penalty miss. Rich Rhodes’ powerful run had surged the white rose into Lancaster territory, but Harris skewed a tricky effort wide.
With less than 10 minutes to go though, the huge cheers of the York crowed confirmed that they had taken the lead. Despite abuse from the Lancaster support, Harris stood calm and focussed over the ball and slammed his penalty right between the posts to bring the whitewash within tantalising reach.
Lancaster pushed hard but the desire in the York defence was stronger. A dangerous rolling maul had given the red rose a good scoring platform but the York forwards secured a vital turnover.
The men in black played out the closing moments comfortably, and once the celebrations had died down just slightly, captain Rob Golding reflected honestly on the performance:
“It wasn’t out best performance. We didn’t turn it on when we needed to but we showed a lot of character.
“We’ve had a tough year, an unbelievable sort of year, and it’s been an unbelievable day.”