Lancashire 22 Yorkshire 36: Visitors' victory books their place at Twickenham
Despite a gutsy effort from Lancashire, it was Yorkshire who came out on top in a very competitive Bill Beaumont County Championship encounter at the Woodlands on Saturday.
A very healthy attendance of almost 1,200 spectators saw Yorkshire quickly out of the blocks as they took early control in terms of possession and territory.
A fourth-minute lineout on the left-hand side of the pitch saw the White Rose backs go right as Elliot Fisher created enough space for Chris Hooper to score.
Lewis Minikin’s attempted conversion drifted wide but the experienced centre was to play a very important part later in the game.
Yorkshire crossed again in the 12th minute as Jack Townend finished off a slick backs move by scoring in front of the heavily-populated clubhouse.
Minikin converted the try for a 12-0 lead, which was to prove crucial as it meant that Lancashire were always chasing the game.
Although the bigger Yorkshire pack was consistent throughout, the Lancashire forwards soon warmed to the challenge.
Neat interplay from Will Hunt and Adam Lanigan resulted in a good try wide out by Cam Smith.
Hunt converted from near the touchline and reduced the deficit to five points at 12-7 but, five minutes later, Yorkshire’s pack hammered away at the Lancashire line and George Mewburn drove over to make it 17-7.
The forward battle, however, was far from one-way traffic as Lancashire fought back, Yorkshire prop Loma Kivalu committing an offence in a ruck and receiving a yellow card.
Lancashire took due advantage as, in the 28th minute, Corey Bowker drove over the line for another try in his productive season.
Unfortunately for them, this score was as close as they got to recovering from the early setbacks.
A crucial 11-minute period either side of half-time, starting in the 32nd minute, cemented Yorkshire’s advantage.
A clever chip by Eddie Crossland was gathered by Minikin, who offloaded to Fisher for a try under the posts before converting to make it 24-12 at the break.
Immediately after the half-time interval, a break from Adam Brankley then set up Minikin to score an unconverted try.
A 29-12 lead seemed pretty conclusive but Lancashire didn’t cave in and fought back strongly as Tom Ailes drove over in the corner on the hour.
That try wasn’t built on as Yorkshire’s Will Smith broke through tackles in the 73rd minute to score their sixth and final try.
Former Fylde favourite Chris Johnson was off the bench by now, contributing his considerable experience to the home cause alongside Scott Rawlings and – at the other end of his rugby career – Garstang’s Will Greenwood.
A last-minute drive over the line by another replacement, Lewis Quinn, gave Lancashire some consolation after Townend had seen yellow for an illegal challenge earlier in the move.
Although Lancashire competed bravely throughout, they couldn’t put sufficient pressure on a Yorkshire team who were deserved winners and progress to the final against Kent at Twickenham.
Lancashire: Turner, C Smith, Clayton, Stott, Lanigan, Hunt, Sturgess; Bowker, Mallinson, Altham, Walton, James, Deans, Harrison, Ailes. Replacements: Rylance, Wilkinson, Woods, Quinn, Greenwood, Rawlings, McGuire, Johnson.
Yorkshire: Townend, Hooper, Minikin, Cicognini, Norman, Crossland, Fisher; Kivalu, Campbell, Stout, Makin, Parson, Dodds, Brankley, Mewburn. Replacements: Archer, Moore, Scholey, A Crapper, F Crapper, Harding, W Smith, Dobson.