Moortown U14s A 10 Malton & Norton U14s A 21
Hessle U14s 0 Malton & Norton U14s A 45
Pocklington U14s A 21 Malton & Norton U14s A 0
Barbarians 0 Malton & Norton U14s B 32
Pocklington U14s B 7 Malton & Norton U14s B 43
Roundhegians U14s 21 Malton & Norton U14s B 7

Pocklington U14s A 33 Malton & Norton U14s B 0
Roundhegians U14s 0 Malton & Norton U14s A 22

Pocklington U14s A 21 Malton & Norton U14s A 0

Malton & Norton U14s experienced an eventful day at the Pocklington Junior Sevens Tournament which was overshadowed by injuries to Marc Sleightholme and Sam Knight both of whom had to be taken to hostpital.

In their first pool match Malton A came from behind to beat Moortown A with tries by Henry Barnes and Joe Godliman(2) and conversions by Ali Heard(2) and Jack Wilson. Hessle were then easily dispatched with tries by Henry Barnes, Ali Heard(2),Joe Godliman, Joe Payne, Phil Rutter and Tom Parsons and five conversions by Ali Heard.

Pocklington A presented a stiffer challenge with Malton A going down 21-0 to finish second in their pool.

Malton B also opened with two comfortable victories against the Barbarians, with tries from Tom Clark, Sam Knight(2), Sam Myers(2) and George Everitt and a conversion from Charlie Read, and against Pocklington B, with tries by Jake Cunningham-Evans,Sam Myers(3), Tom Clark(2) and George Everitt and conversions by Sam Myers and David Bellwood(3). A loss in a tightly fought game against Roundhegians with a try from Jake Cunningham-Evans and a conversion by David Bellwood saw Malton B also finish in second place in their pool with a semi-final game against Pocklington A.

As they had already shown in their match against Malton A Pocklington were the form side and ran out comfortable winners.

In their semi-final against Roundhegians Malton A also ran out comfortable winners with tries by Joe Payne(2),Joe Godliman and Tom Parsons and a conversion by Ali Heard.

In the final Malton A battled hard against Pocklington with the game scoreless at half time. In the second half Pocklington's superior ability to move the ball around the field told and they ran out winners by 21points to nil.

For their last match of the season the Under 15s travelled to West Park  Bramhope and met the usual large opposition and put on one of their best performances to date. This was an evenly balanced match and for the early stages Malton were forced to mount a dogged defence, good work by Sam Annan and Andrew Arden. Chuck Ramsay made a good break but the ball was held up over the line before George Harrison worked a gap to go round under the posts, Ramsay converted. Malton upped a gear and good runs were made by Jamie Thompson , Cole Goodchild and a number by Miles Murkett. Alex Varey and Nathan Pratt showed good hands for Ramsay to score the second. Defence for once was sound, strong tackles from Alistair Wilkinson, Harrison and John Kennedy. 

The second half saw Thompson persuing the long kicks, rewarded with a try, but a quick response saw West Park come back to 5-17. Along period of play was eventually broken by a long run by Kennedy to score and Ramsay converted.. Malton were on the attack to the end ;Welch was held up over the line, Barraclough and Turnbull worked hard with Hunt darting about at scrum half. Luke Jagger as always was a formidable force and will be missed if he has emigrated by next season. Ramsay scored a deserved last try to win 5-29. 

A great end to a very hard season and a good present for coaches Adrian Brader assisted by Guy Kennedy.

A last minute but very welcome invitation to travel to Darlington saw a hugely entertaining game of rugby. Despite being so low on numbers that they had to borrow players from the large Darlington squad, Malton stood up to the expected stern test and responded with some high quality play. 

The home backs showed exceptional speed and an individual break by a centre from within his own half opened the scores. Back came Malton though and as the pack did well to win back the ball after losing a lineout, the backs put the ball through hands out to Tim Lam on the wing. He took it on well, but the try was made by good support play as first Laurence Keyworth and then Gareth Hunt took offloads to give Hunt a clear run in to score. 

Malton then took the lead after a Darlington fumble set up an attacking scrum from which Sam Harrison broke. The Darlington blindside flanker put in the tackle but Harrison just powered through and then brushed off the fullback to score.  

Changes to the home squad were frequent as the Coaches endeavoured to give game time to all, but probably proved disruptive to their standard of play. However as Darlington settled again they mounted growing pressure in the Malton 22 and finally a darting break by the fly half opened a gap for an equalising score. This quickly turned in to a lead as Malton let a high kick bounce deep in their own territory, and a cruel final bounce fell in to the hands of the onrushing winger. Another score followed what seemed a pretty clear knock on and Darlington looked well set. 

Back came Malt however and after a yellow card for persistent offside to a home player, the penalty was taken as a pivot move and Sam Harrison burst through to score. At this point Malt could have saved the game but Darlington scored two further scores to stretch ahead. Gareth Hunt finished off a good three quarter move for a consolation score, with fly half Dan Asquith capping a good kicking display with his fourth successful conversion.

Malton & Norton Under 16s took another good win against Thornensians, for the third time this season, but the South Yorkshire visitors showed their continued good development to demonstrate how they have reached next week’s final of the Yorkshire Under 16 Plate competition.  

On a greasy pitch, which worsened as the rain grew stronger, the game was never going to be too pleasing to the eye, but in the first half especially Malton showed greater enterprise and finishing power. Also, in number eight Sam Harrison, as so often this season, Malton had the match winner to make the big difference between the sides. 

Malton had a very strong tight five out on the day and they gave the backs a good platform to operate from. Malt’s opening score was a cracker as Harrison caught a Thorne defensive kick on halfway and switched to fly half Sam Davies. Davies chipped over the onrushing defence, skilfully caught the bouncing ball in one arm allowing him to offload to Harrison again, who had followed up well in support to run in under the posts, giving an easy conversion for Josh Evans. 

The home backs continued to threaten with centres Gareth Hunt and Rupert Garland operating as a strong midfield partnership. Pressure caused ill discipline amongst the Thorne boys and two tries were scored from close range penalties, the first by Sam Harrison, and the next by Ryan Lech. Thorne responded well to get good field position and then to steal a Malton lineout allowing a forward drive to score. 

Harrison however was not finished and he pinched a loose ball at the back of a Thorne scrum and was away past three defenders to score wide out. 

The second half was very well contested but there were no more scores as the conditions worsened. 

Good luck to Thornensians in the Plate final next week. 

Two somewhat makeshift sides turned out for the second local derby of the season and Malton took the spoils once again. The squads available on the day dictated the style of play with Driffield playing a very tight controlled game through the forwards and Malton looking to bring an exciting back line in to play as often as possible. 

The opening quarter of an hour saw closely contested exchanges, and it became clear that if Malton could repel a big Driffield pack and then get the ball wide, a win was on the cards. Eventually a classic three-quarter move saw Malton open the scores. Gareth Hunt took on his two centre opponents and cleverly drew them both in to create an overlap for full-back Laurence Keyworth entering the line. Right wing Tom Southerton took it on and Keyworth looped wide to finish off a good move. 

This provided the proof to the home backs that they had the gas to beat the visiting defence, and it was fly-half Sam Davies who next took them on, gathering a loose ricochet and breaking clear form half-way with impressive pace to score. 

In to the second half and Davies scored again with a second individual effort, well converted by Tim Lam. Driffield threatened the Malton line on occasions but the defence held firm and a great tackle by Davies midfield broke up an attack from which Gareth Hunt made a clean interception, showing a clean pair of heels from deep within his own half to score a fourth try.   

Laurence Keyworth finished off one last move to score again, closing out a good win. The platform was provided by the pack with a good display of finishing by the backs.

The Under 16 squad and supporting parents set out at the crack of dawn from Malton for their (RFU approved) overseas tour to the Paris area, eagerly looking to emulate England’s exploits against France in “le crunch”. The journey down to Dover was spiced up by the prospect of hooking up with two latecomers, Matthew Clark and Tom “Sooty” Southerton whose school trip to Germany overlapped dangerously close to the departure time. 

When their Hull-bound ferry docked late this put greater pressure on Sooty’s parents who had gamely volunteered to make the transfer to wherever it would prove possible to catch up the tour bus. The process was further complicated when it was discovered that Kit Wilson’s passport had been left on the kitchen table. This necessitated a further trip from Middleton to Hull for Kit’s mum to deliver the errant document to the no doubt bemused Southertons, all of which left the impeccable pre-tour arrangements threatened with disarray.  

As more admissions emerged about other passports being out of date, Plan’s B, C, D and beyond were hatched on the trip down country. The early arrival of the tour party in Dover allowed for trips to the beach and a bar to the bemusement of the locals at the array of fancy dress on display.  Tour mascot Yvette particularly enjoyed the sea air and behaved very much the lady; boy though there was relief all round when, as check-in time loomed, with minutes to spare, the Sootycar emerged triumphantly around the corner, and at last the tour party was complete for onward journey to Paris. 

A quiet night in the adopted local bar near Porte de Clichy was followed by a morning of sightseeing and the chance to gather a growing collection of random “a photo with” opportunities – the highlight being “a photo with” a man eating a sandwich – he was a bit cross; dressing up was clearly not his thing… 

And so on to the first game of rugby, played against a team combining resources from Rugby Club de Neuilly-sur-Marne and Rugby Club des Boucles de la Marne, in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Marne, at the Stade de Guy Boniface. A late afternoon kick off culminated in a floodlit game adding further atmosphere to a terrific occasion. A competitive encounter was played out in a great spirit of sport and Malton duly delivered the first leg of the two-match crunch.  

The hosts opened the scoring with a well taken penalty as Malton were caught offside on the 22, but the “rosbifs” were soon in to their stride and pressure told when fly-half Nick Daley jinked through close defence to score. Undaunted Neuilly / Boucles de la Marne hit back with a try in the corner following a scrum under the posts, caused by a thundering tackle by flanker Kit Wilson.  

Game on! Cometh the hour cometh the man and Sam Harrison struck as only the team’s leading try scorer would;he was in close support as scrum-half Jonathan Cattle broke from the base of a scrum and a quick inside ball saw the number eight break through to score, with the conversion added by Sam Davies. To cries of “boring”, “we’re on tour you know”, Davies (following captain’s orders it should be said) then extended the lead with a penalty kick.  

Just enough time was left before the interval for prop Rich Brown to give a passable impression of Sébastien Chabal wiping out an opponent in a full frontal charge. Having done his bit for Anglo-French relations Browny left the pitch with a sore head. According to the Physio, “he was not happy”. Neither though were the French front row when Tom Francis wandered on as the replacement and proceeded to do a Sheridan-job in the next three scrums, to such good effect that the referee called the following scrums as uncontested. 

On the whistle the remainder of Malton’s 27-man squad entered the fray determined not to let their team mates down by ceding what was a hard earned lead. They were not to disappoint.  

Dan Asquith assumed the number ten shirt and soon showed a promising partnership with inside centre Sam Forbes, whose clean break for the posts on a flat pass was held up just short. From a resulting defensive kick full-back Laurence Keyworth switched at pace and linked with Sam Harrison who raced in to score. Then from a scrum Asquith called an overload to the right and (no doubt thinking, “Ronnie would be proud”) switched to the left and a simple pass in to space put wing Matty Clark away in the corner. 

An innocent looking home team scrum saw your correspondent not paying attention as he struggled to find the right words to sum up “that“ tackle by captain Kit in the first half, and when he looked up Clark was away again under the posts – all efforts post-match to find anyone (including the try-scorer) who could remember how the score came about proved mysteriously fruitless. 

Neuilly / Boucles de la Marne fought back proudly to put repeated pressure on the visitors and reward came with a consolation score which was no more than they deserved.  

Final word though went to Malton as a cross-field kick met its intended recipient Laurence Keyworth (albeit with a “hint” of offside) who gathered to round off the scores.  

The post match party was a wonderful display of French hospitality and it was fantastic to see the interaction between both sets of players bringing a spirit of friendship, which in sport, surely only rugby can deliver.  

Match 2 was played at Bagnolet to the east of Paris, against Rugby Club de Bagnolet. Warned to expect a hard task against quality opposition, Malton made James Smith honorary captain for the day, before he moves away from the Malton area with his family in the near future. With three bunny girls occupying the visitors’ dug-out, and setting off in a traditional Yorkshire hailstorm, things were really looking up. 

The Boys from Bagnolet had other ideas however and spent ten minutes camped out in English territory. Then, suddenly, Malton’s three-quarters woke up. The back three of Keyworth, Lam and Davies had clearly hatched a plan to outdo Haymans, Clerc and Rougerie on their own turf. One turnover by centres Forbes and Gareth Hunt and they were off, like very un-English rugby players – passing the ball and running – very fast… 

Davies on the right wing was the beneficiary, scoring after a well-judged kick ahead. 

Not to be outdone Bagnolet broke from deep and with an apparent absence of any covering defence they quickly hit back. The attempted conversion from in front of the posts was best forgotten, but once again we had a great game on our hands.  Malton responded again as Tim Lam took a ball on the blind side of a scrum and blasted through two would-be tacklers to score and to seize a half-time lead. Captain Smith gave a rousing half-time talk, praising the backs who, he declared, had been “s**t all season”… 

Once again Malton rang the changes to give a game to all and once again the squad strength was not diminished one bit as every player was able to play their part. A closely contested quarter of an hour could have seen the game go either way, but finally the English visitors prevailed. Persistence in the pack saw Rupert Garland emerge from a maul to crash over and score. More pressure on the home team caused a fumble and Sooty Southerton, speeding like a family hatchback haring down the M2, pounced to score. Still the kickers did not trouble the scoreboard though.  

The Bagnolet team now looked beaten, demoralised no doubt by the general mayhem caused by the referee who in his bilingual enthusiasm screamed instructions at the French in English, and at the English in French…   Luckily, in another master stroke by the Coaching team (bet they don’t cover this in Level 2), Malton had linguist extraordinaire Tommy Moore on at scrum-half, who was able to translate to his team mates in a running commentary of non-stop chatter, making them feel, well, no different to normal really… 

Finally, in a fitting coup de grace it was left to a forward to score a simply stunning individual effort. From fully seventy metres Sam Stepho raced through, breaking tackle after tackle to round off the tour. Or so we thought. In a Wilkinson-esque display he shaped up to show the way to all the other place kickers. Would’e make it? Never in doubt as a majestic strike sailed through the uprights.  

Once again the post match celebrations saw both teams like long lost buddies, setting an admirable example for this weeks French State visit to England.   Afterwards the tour party made their way to the Stade de France to enjoy the French “Top 14” League fixture between Stade Francais and Toulouse. A wonderful spectacle complete with an elephant and pink tackle bags saw Stade Francais take a good win. 

Malton Tour match results; 

RC de Neuilly-sur-Marne & RC des Boucles de la Marne 15, Malton & Norton 39

RC de Bagnolet 5, Malton & Norton 27 

Malton & Norton squad;  

Dan Asquith, George Barker, Richard Brown, Jonathan Cattle, Matthew Clark, Nick Daley, Sam Davies, Sam Forbes, Archie Fothergill, Tom Francis, Rob Freer, Rupert Garland, Joe Griffiths, Sam Harrison, Gareth Hunt, Laurence Keyworth, Tim Lam, Ryan Lech, Tom Moore, Will Prest, Zac Priestley, Angus Ramsay, Euan Rodden, James Smith, Tom Southerton, Sam Stephenson, Kit Wilson.

An unexpected but welcome fixture with York, after both clubs received cancellations, gave Malton the opportunity for revenge following defeat at York earlier this month. Unfortunately it was not to be as, with only sixteen players (what happened to last weeks’ tour squad of 27?), Malton ran out of steam in the second half. 

This after a bright start generated a good ten minutes of pressure in York’s half of the pitch. Reward came when centre Gareth Hunt caught his opposite number in possession and isolated in midfield. The turnover was spun quickly to the left wing where Tom Southerton finished well. 

York reversed the momentum with equal pressure on the home side, and after a series of close scrums a free kick was also quickly spread left for York to level the scores. From the kick-off a York player held on to the ball illegally, and Josh Evans took the three points with a well-struck penalty kick. 

A slender but well deserved lead at half time looked promising but from here on Malton seemed to tire and York played good rugby to run in three tries without reply. The home team tried a lot of moves but generally from deep, and they did not really threaten the York line again. 

Next Week – Home against Driffield

Sixteen players turned up at York to try to build on last weeks success but a poor first half from Malton allowed a better organised and hungrier York team to build up a lead of 37-0 with only one of the seven tries being converted.

A slightly better second half meant York made only three tries to make the final score 52-0. Malton is a better team than the score suggests but must work together much more and stand up and be counted.

The team must also do the basics well in the first part of the game before trying anything too adventurous. Let’s hope that Pocklington 7s next week brings out a better performance and they can match or better last year’s runners up berth.

York deservedly took the win from a competitive game with their stronger defence perhaps proving to be the defining factor. 

Malton started with a brilliant break by Sam Davies, playing at centre. Playing outside Nick Daley, having a run out at fly half, Davies spotted a gap and showed good pace and strength to power over. Josh Evans struck a well-taken conversion. 

York quickly hit back, stringing together several phases to make their way upfield. A likely score was prevented by a last ditch tackle over the try line with the ball spilled forward. The referee saw otherwise and awarded an attacking scrum from which the home fly half exploited poor defence to score. 

Next up a penalty awarded against Malton when the York player was clearly holding on after the tackle, ended with classy three quarter play creating a try wide out.   

A straightforward lineout and attacking thrust saw York score a third, and further poor tackling allowed two further scores. 

Meanwhile Malton shone in patches. The back row of Wilson, Stephenson and Fothergill competed really well throughout, and Tom Moore had a great game at scrum half. 

Malton scored a well-deserved consolation having gained good territory, Gareth Hunt took a pass in the receiver position from a ruck, chipped over the tight defence in to the in ball area and won the race to touch down, a super individual try.

From the outset this was a much easier task than last week's match against Pocklington and George Harrison made a break to Stanley Rodilians 22 metre line. Malton won the lineout and Josh Wetherill scored in the corner. Tim Hunt and Miles Murkett both made breaks before Jamie Thompson put in an aggressive solo run to score.

Wetherill's long run and try was converted by Alistair Coe. Stanley kept fighting back but a well timed kick across the pitch was gathered by Harrison to run round and score under the posts. Coe converted. Some scrappy play ended with Thompson bursting through to force his way in for his second on half time, 29-0. 

The second half saw Stanley come out strongly and only a Tim Hunt tackle stopped an early score. A long defensive kick was chased down and man of the match, Alex Varey showed good handling and several side steps before getting in under the posts. Stanley's efforts were rewarded with a gifted ball to break their duck.

Wetherill and Thompson both got their hat-tricks either side of a well worked try by Tim Hunt, Jo Robinson converting. Harrison ended the match with a silky bit of running through the opposition and Coe converted to win 58-5.  

It will be a lot harder next week away against York but this was a boost to confidence.

There was to be no third time lucky for this Malton & Norton junior team as they lost their third Yorkshire Cup semi-final in four years, and for the second year running to last year’s champions from Halifax. 

Malton started very brightly with the half-backs intent on bringing both backs and forward runners in to the game, but Old Brods soaked up five minutes of pressure then struck, exerting sustained pressure through several phases of play to score. They quickly followed up with a second try as a strong midfield run was efficiently recycled to create half a gap out wide. The Malton defence did not drift to cover the winger and a missed tackle was all it took for the home team to concede. 

If this didn’t look bleak, a shock intercept try then stunned Malt, and with the conversion scored they were staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat. 

Lesser sides would have wilted but a magnificent fight back was mounted, the pack took their opponents on up front and reward came just before half time as James Smith finished off several phases of forward drives to score, with Josh Evans adding the extras. 

From the kick off Malt were straight back at the visitors forcing a fumble midfield, and at the scrum number eight Sam Harrison scored a fine solo effort to bring his team right back in to the game. 

Any idea though that the Yorkshire champions would buckle under this pressure was soon dispelled with two further tries including a lovely break by the fly half. Malt responded with a Josh Evans penalty but Old Brods took the deserved win and carry Malton’s best wishes in to the final. 

The season's best performances saw Malton take on Bridlington who they had drawn with earlier in the season and been beaten by in the Plate Competition. From the outset the forwards were quicker in the loose, Sam Annan showing the way dropping on a loose ball. Jamie Thompson made a break and Josh Weatherill opened the score with Alistair Coe converting. Malton maintained constant pressure; the forwards winning the ball and for once good handling saw it pass down the line time after time.

Eventually Bridlington were sufficiently stretched to let Miles Murkitt sprint in at the corner. The next try was a jinking solo run by captain, Alistair Coe, converted by scrum half, Ben Holtby. Nathan Pratt at full-back took a couple of difficult catches before putting in two try saving tackles. The next try was down the line to John Kennedy who sped in and Coe converted. George Harrison then darted in under the posts, Coe converting. 

Bridlington were not happy and scored either side of half time 33-12, before Alex Varey showed suprising speed to beat all the Bridlington backs to the corner. Kennedy scoring in the opposite corner minutes later. Man of the match Josh Weatheril's second and third tries straddled Bridlington's last . The last try showed the teamwork with Annan chasing a long kick forcing a quick defencive kick, Pratt caught it cleanly sprinted back before releasing Weatherill to charge over. Final score 55-17.

Bridlington gained revenge for a loss at Malton earlier in the season, with the score line a near reversal of a similarly close game. 

The home team fought hard and disrupted up front, constantly preventing Malton from getting in to their stride. Malton conceded far too much lineout and ruck ball, and as a consequence the backs fed off scraps throughout the game. 

Bridlington managed to play the better in the first half despite facing a stiff breeze. Malton’s inability to make use of the wind advantage led to the first score after poor clearing kicks gave Bridlington good field position from which a try came with a strong forward drive. 

Malton gradually scrapped their way back in to the game in the second half and finally gained reward for their endeavours when Richard Brown crashed over from a tap penalty. Dan Asquith struck a fine conversion wide out and against the wind for Malt to take a lead, which on this season’s form you would have backed them to keep. Brid’s indignation though that the try was awarded was channelled in to a concerted effort which saw scrappy play by Malton to concede a scrum close in. 

The Brid pack did the rest with another drive for the line to score. 

There is much work to be done in training next Wednesday to prepare for next weeks big fixture, the Yorkshire Cup semi final at Malton against Old Brodleians.     

This exciting match followed on from last week's good performance and saw Malton pitched against a large visiting side. After absorbing early pressure Malton's George Harrison made a good break down the field and was  followed by further breaks by Miles Murkett and Josh Weatherill but Malton couldn't get points on the board. The forwards were working well as a unit but still got pushed off the ball in the loose. Cole Goodchild showed a suprising turn of speed galloping down to the half way line. Ben Holtby made darting runs off the pack and man of the match Sam Annan showed determination and nerve driving forward and securing loose ball. John Kennedy broke the deadlock bursting through a shaky defence. Malton kept Scarborough out with strong work by the forwards and powerful tackles notably from Harrison and Nathan Pratt.

The second half started well with a well worked ball down the backs for Kennedy to go over in the corner. The pack were now applying widespread  pressure and forced two quick penalties and the got to their scrum half causing him to kick the ball into his own player Alistair Coe pounced on the rebound and darted in for the score and then converted his own try. 17-0. Scarborough fought on and gained a consolation try but this was a good team win for Malton 17-7.

Another tough fixture against quality opponents and another hard fought win by Malton Under 16s in an increasingly successful season.  

A somewhat makeshift team turned up on the day, weakened by half term school trips and last minute absences to a bare fifteen players, but they set off like an express train from the kick off. Sam Harrison hammered the catcher and the follow up forced a scrambled touch on the twenty-two. Tom Francis secured the lineout and a magnificent drive by the pack was brought down on the try line. Malton drove at the fringes through several well-defended phases before Richard Brown finally got the score, Dan Asquith adding the extras. 

Back came Yarnbury showing good flair in the backs, and as they settled, they exploited the unfamiliarity of the Malton line up to score two impressive tries.  

In the second half Malton, looking more settled, started brightly with scrum half Jonathan Cattle at the heart of everything. Nick Daley made good yards and recycled ball saw Sam Harrison burst through to score. From the kick off Ryan Lech set off on a thirty-metre dash exploiting poor defence, and again several phases passed before Rich Brown scored a second.  

Asquith and Harrison had spotted the weak defensive channel, and at the first opportunity Harrison burst through on an inside ball. The pack drove on deep in to the corner and quick ball was span out wide where Laurence Keyworth finished the game off. 

A superb fifteen-man effort took the well-deserved win. 

Next Week – Home against Pocklington

Another high quality game for Malton Under 16s in a month of great fixtures saw Darlington, great hosts to this Malton team on tour three years ago, visit The Gannock for the first time, and their performance did County Durham proud. 

In a tight and compelling game, Darlington’s greater control around half back proved the difference. In particular the visitors used the strong wind better in the second half. 

The first half finished with Darlington one score up on the stroke of half time, superbly converted against a crosswind. Darlington had profited from a poor clearing kick and a purposeful switch midfield by a strong running winger. Whilst Malton brought him down short the follow up drive was unstoppable. 

Malt countered early in the second half with a burst up the wing that was halted by an excellent covering tackle, but Malton wing Tim Lam was well up in support to be first to the loose ball and score. Josh Evans matched the Darlington kicker with another fine conversion. 

From here Darlington showed their better control to generally pin Malt back in their own territory. Inevitably in their efforts to win ball and break free, Malt transgressed and Darlington’s fly half kicked two penalties to win the game. 

Both team coaches praised the teams for the quality of the game that was much enjoyed on the sidelines. 

Malton Man of the Match was awarded to Laurence Keyworth 

Next Week – Away at Yarnbury

Any thoughts Malton may have held of overcoming a similarly heavy loss earlier in the season were soon dispelled by Hull Ionians who showed just the same levels of athleticism, skill and technique to run in a hatful of tries. 

The Hull boys have forwards who run like backs and who combine with close support play and great offloading to make huge inroads in to the best of defences. The forwards also do their basics well, exploiting a significant height difference in the lineout and scrummaging well, although here Malton did more than hold their own. 

And that’s before the ball reaches the backs! Here some classic handling released one or two seriously quick three-quarters. All in all Hull I’s ran in nine good tries with one or two excellent conversions in a strong wind just to finish Malton off. 

Meanwhile Malton plugged away with a lot of hard work, mainly in defence it has to be said, but they got their reward with several promising breaks and some good use of the boot in the second half to slow down the scoring rate. 

The consolation score came from a penalty near the twenty-two that was kicked expertly in to the corner. From a first catch and drive Hull’s defence managed to scramble the ball back in to touch. From a second well-secured lineout another catch and drive was controlled better and George Barker emerged with a well-deserved score. 

This promises to be tough month for Malton’s Under 16s as next week our opponents will be Old Brodleians away.

Sunday 13 January 

Thornensians RUFC Under 16s 6, Malton & Norton Under 16s 12 

Malton & Norton Under 16s just edged a close fought encounter on a first trip to Thorne. The hosts have been regular visitors to The Gannock in the last two seasons and were clearly looking for revenge for previous defeats, as their squad really upped their game to give Malton a stern test. A powerful pack and strong running and creative midfield asked questions all game, but Malton had the defence and the cutting edge to prevail. 

Cagey opening encounters saw the Thorne inside centre, who usually plays at fly-half, create good opportunities for the runners around him, threatening to breach the Malton midfield. The first break from a run on a terrific angle was stopped by Matthew Clark at full back but he was deemed to have unfairly impeded the attacker and Thorne took a good penalty to open the scoring. 

From the kick off the referee made a decision that caused much debate on both sides of the touchline. Malt’s kick clearly did not reach ten metres and was fielded by a Malton player. The Thorne defence, in making a tackle on the ball carrier were judged to have kept the game “live”. The trouble for Thorne was that Malton broke upfield, recycled well and span the ball to the left flank where Matthew Clark took the overlap to score. Tim Lam took a well-struck conversion.  

Back came Thorne with a move that was halted illegally by a Malton hand in a ruck, and second penalty was secured in a tricky wind.  

In to the second half and Thorne continued to pressure in all areas of the field without managing to make the decisive break. Malton however made the winning score with a penetrating break by centre Nick Daley and a well timed offload to Gareth Hunt who scored. 

Malton, and especially their Captain, Kit Wilson, did very well to ignore some frustrated “handbags” form a couple of home players, and held out for a narrow win. 

Man of the Match was Sam Davies – Next Week – Home v Scarborough 

This first match of the New Year was a lacklustre affair with few high points on either side. That’s not to say the Malton team didn't work hard but were slow to react and uninventive in their play. After withstanding early pressure eventually Cleckheaton probing found a gap by simply spreading the ball. There were a number of breaks by Malton players, notably Henry Forbes, but too often they were unsupported by the pack and the ball was lost by the isolated player. Unexpectedly Jamie Thompson broke through at a lineout to score and Tom Brader came close with a difficult conversion. Alistair Coe and Miles Murkett put in telling tackles but generally poor tackling allowed Cleckheaton to score twice more before half-time to lead 17-5.

The second half saw Malton work hard but to little effect but ensured no score for most of the half. Late in the game Cleckheaton broke through a tiring defence. Malton fought to the end and scored a consolation try with John Kennedy bursting through to end the match 29-10. Hopefully Malton will be sharper and brighter next week at home against Beverley.

Following a win at Scunthorpe back in September Malton went in to the home fixture with confidence however the visitors came with a strong squad and made sure that this was to be hard fought game. 

Malton were quick out of the blocks with a flowing three quarter move, as full back Josh Evans entered the line, making good inroads in to the opposition half. Scunthorpe stopped the move, but with an illegal hand in a ruck. A kick to the corner was chosen and from good lineout ball the forwards mauled the ball over the line and Sam Harrison took the try. Josh Evans took a well-struck conversion to add the extras. 

Sustained Malton pressure pinned Scunthorpe back in their own half for long periods. The pressure told when from a five metre defensive scrum good harrying of the fly-half forced him to touch down in-goal. With the scrum reversed to the attacking home team, Harrison picked up from the base and forced his way over. 

Scunthorpe competed well throughout and there were no easy scores to be had. Indeed several promising passages saw the visitors threaten, but the home defence was impenetrable. 

Prop Tristan Bean had an excellent game carrying a lot of ball and helping the pack dominate the scrum, and his forceful run to score stretched the lead. Josh Evans finished the game off with a successful penalty. 

Man of the Match was Tristan Bean – next week – away at Ripon

A compelling and tense game of rugby played in a great spirit, saw Malton & Norton Under 16s reach the semi-final of the Yorkshire Cup for the third time in four seasons. Whilst the score sheet shows one player scoring an amazing four tries the victory was down to the full squad playing to their best abilities to overcome quality opposition. 

Strong rain made the pitch and handling conditions very difficult, and nerves on the occasion made the opening minutes somewhat scrappy. Malton opened the scoring when a strong kick upfield was spilled, Sam Harrison hacked on and won the race to the ball. 

Back came Harrogate with high quality three quarter moves, the half backs combining well to release strong running centres. A lovely midfield switch broke the home defence through the well-chosen angle of attack and whilst Malton full back Tim Lam did well to force the attacker out wide, the score was made. 

Malton forced their way upfield with determined fifteen-man rugby, and Harrogate conceded a penalty in front of the posts. Most observers called for the kick, but skipper Kit Wilson chose an attacking pivot move and Harrison bullocked over with an unstoppable drive, converted by Sam Davies. 

In to the second half and the Malt forwards took early control with a magnificent rolling maul to score, with guess who emerging with the ball. Harrison then capped a great day with a fourth try to put Malt clear. 

Harrogate showed great pride in their display from there on, picking up their game and battering the home defence to earn a deserved consolation score. 

Man of the Match was awarded by Harrogate to Sam Stephenson. 

Next Week – home against Scunthorpe.