On a sunny, autumnal afternoon Pirates started as they meant to go on. From the kick- off they put York under pressure and made three attempts to burst through the gain line. Persistence paid off and Liam Cockayne cut in from the right wing to cross the line. Ben Pye took an easy conversion. York came back, but Pirates employed a very solid defensive line and soon turned over. A penalty followed, with a good kick into the corner. The line out was won and Pirates went close through good phases of play. A knock on relieved some pressure on York but it was only a temporary reprieve: they knocked on, the resulting scrum was a good one for Pirates, with Will Smith picking up smartly from the base and feeding Harry Brayshaw for a simple score. Ben Pye successfully converted.
The kick-off was followed by a scrappy few plays with turnovers and knock-ons before Joe Emery made a strong run forward. Slightly isolated, the ball was turned over but Pirates immediately responded in kind, leading to a terrific run by Emery created a scoring opportunity for Cockayne to score]. No conversion this time with Ben Pye hitting the upright but Pirates were looking comfortable at 19-0.
York tried valiantly to get back in the game, but strong tackling and a very effective rush defence kept them at bay. Following a turnover smooth passing moved the ball to the left for Will Smith to cross the whitewash. This time there was no mistake with the conversion.
York’s best period of the first half followed with a deserved try from an overlap on the left wing. They failed to convert so the margin remained comfortable at 19-5. Pirates applied further pressure with some good phases of slick passing and handling but could not add any more points before half time.
The second half looked set to mirror the first. Brayshaw hit a powerful kick down the centre into wide open spaces, and chased it himself to cross directly under the posts, leaving Ben Pye another easy conversion. 31-5. A few minutes later another good kick through almost resulted in another try but Pirates had strayed marginally offside. A period of toing and froing followed with strong running by York coming to nought, thanks to strong tackling and rush defence. An excellent kick by Ben Pye almost created a try, but York put the ball dead. Pirates continued the pressure and won a line out 10 metres out. Quick ball led to a try under the posts by Cockayne for his hattrick. Another easy conversion by Ben Pye moved the score on to 38-5. Tiring legs and minds led to a scappy period before good rucking around York’s 22 metre line resulted in Rufus Palfreman scoring Pirates seventh try. Again, the conversion was easy. York went over for a second consolation try just before the final whistle,but failed to convert. A comfortable 46-10 victory and an excellent performance.