Ilkley 2nds 62 York 2nds 12

ILKLEY produced their best performance of the season as a number of players advanced their claims for first team selection.

New coach Andy Hinchliffe must have been pleased with what he saw.

The Ramsey brother, stand off Charles and flanker Gus, caught the eye while Declan Jackson made a welcome return to Ilkley colours on the wing.

Young scrum half Jack DeAth is a growing influence with a great pass and courage.

The sight of big Aussie Charlie Scott in the second row rekindles memories of the Dalesmen's Yorkshire One campaigns.

But, make no mistake, this was a superb team effort with all 19 players used playing their part in a great victory.

The one downside of the day was the state of the pitch. The week's rain had sat stubbornly on the surface and turned a greasy surface into a near bog. The fact that there was so much good rugby to watch was a further credit to the players' skills and endeavour.

It didn't take long for Ilkley to get the try fest under way with a pushover effort. Charles Ramsey ghosted over for the next, then Jackson showed why he was last season's 1st XV first-choice winger when he showed a clean pair of heels from distance.

Then Jonny Yale bagged one from close in. Yale has been a great servant to the second team, taking his occasional call up to the senior side with real commitment.

A superb score set up by Charles Ramsey put stalwart Matt Dakin in for another. Charlie Scott added a further try before half-time with a tank-like burst through the York defence.

An unfortunate yellow card for Adam Crooks took the steam out of things for a while and allowed Chris Blackhall to enter the fray on his road to recovery from injury.

The tries kept coming with the impressive centre Josh Thorneycroft going in for a classic centre's try before York, benefitting from the extra man, grabbed a pushover try of their own.

Gus Ramsey's back row colleagues Jake Waring and, latterly, Joe Lowes helped form an awesome trio.

Lowes added another try before York intercepted a pass on halfway to scoot away for their consolation score.

Second-placed Ilkley added one more try to make the final score a resounding 62-12 victory which should build confidence ahead of the trip to face the champions Wharfedale Foresters on Saturday.

The match provided a great opportunity for new lock Adam Newman to get some valuable game time. He is a real presence and a good prospect.