Knightsmare

Northumbria University were humbled 132-0 by newly-promoted Championship side York City Knights in the Carnegie Challenge Cup third round.

The amateurs of Northumbria were no match for a club one division below the Super League.

But first team coach Kevin Neighbour was proud of his team’s performance.

He said: “They played with plenty of pride and plenty of effort - I can’t fault them at all.

“It’s like the F.A Cup if you want an analogy.

“We just went out there and tried to have fun.”

As the Super League teams don’t enter the hat until the next round, York City were one of the highest teams Northumbria could have drawn in this round.

The Knights were 52 points to the good at half-time and as the university side tired the hosts added a further 80 in the second period.

A total of 23 tries were scored and the home side successfully kicked 20 of their conversion attempts.

The students had to defend furiously for long periods but will have benefited from a unique experience.

Knights coach, Dave Woods, was full of praise for his opponents. 

“Full credit to Northumbria," he said. "They’re young fellas and they were trying all the way up to full-time.”

Chris Thorman top-scored for the home side, converting 19 times and crossing the line four times.

Northumbria were applauded off at full-time by the Knights' faithful, which was well-deserved as they are only the second university to qualify for the third round. 

Katy Storie, competitions manager for Northumbria University, only looked for the positives from the game. 

She said: “We are extremely proud of the team this year. 

“Rugby league has been successful for us as a university. 

“Next year, we will hopefully go from strength to strength. 

“They never gave up, their heads never went down and they remained positive right to the end.”

MICHAEL LIGHTFOOT

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