Then there were three as York start in great style
YORK went through the gears against Blackburn at Ramsgreave Drive to open up their Papa John’s campaign in style.
With Harrogate withdrawing from the competition less than 24 hours ahead of their home tie against defending champions Driffield, Pool One is now a three-team affair, York opening up an early lead.
They were excellent value for the full fivepoint haul, Will Fordy, Angus Barrick, Patrick Hayes and Matt Ferguson all crossing before the break, with Fordy adding his second after the interval, alongside Kyle Consterdine.
Marcus Farnworth, James Brookes and Corey Logan were on target for the hosts, who will now have to beat Driffield handsomely in order to retain interest in a semi-final spot.
Pool Two also contains just the three teams, with Heath thrashing Bridgnorth 50-15 to set up a potential pool decider against Rossendale in a fortnight.
The brilliant Dan Cole bagged two from fullback inside the opening 25 minutes, Seifeddine Boussaada adding a third ahead of half-time.
And there was no let up in the second half, Joe Morrison racing over twice in the opening four minutes, with Dominic Walsh and Jack Pilcher claiming the scores which took the visitors to a half-century.
In Pool Three, Barnstaple edged a tight, nervy encounter at home against Launceston, eventually claiming a 12-8 win.
The hosts were indebted to the prowess of their kickers, with all their points coming from penalties.
Tyler Gordon-Oke got them up and running, but the All Blacks went in at the break, courtesy of a James Tucker penalty and a try from George Bone. However, they only drew blanks from there, as Gordon-Oke added a further two kicks, as did Jacob Murphy.
The win sees them tucked in behind Oxford Harlequins, who thrashed Banbury at Oxford Road, 81-22. The hosts ran in a whopping 13 tries over the course of the afternoon, spread across both halves.
Toby Haines got them up and running early on, and from there they never looked back.
Jack Todd was the next to cross, Jack O’Regan getting in on the act with two of his own, alongside Joseph Piggott, John Ireland and Ewan Fox. Fox’s kicking opened up a 4110 lead for Quins at the break. O’Regan went on to complete his hat-trick late on, before which there were braces apiece for Willo Bicknell and Jon Hughes, in addition to Toby Butler.
With Bracknell withdrawing from Pool Four, just the two clubs remain, Havant and Camberley meeting in what will effectively be a quarter-final next Saturday.