Middlesbrough 20 York 14
25th April 2026, 3pm, Acklam Park
MRUFC squad in front of the scoreboard at Acklam Park
Middlesbrough put in a solid performance against York in a relegation playoff at Acklam Park last weekend, to claim victory and secure a second year of rugby in Regional One North East (Tier 5 of the rugby pyramid). The hotly-contested game lived up to expectations as a physical battle, with both sides fighting hard to avoid the drop.
York kicked off the first half, maintaining possession and putting pressure on Boro’s defensive line through the early stages. Middlesbrough held fast with some mighty tackling, pegging York back in the centre of the pitch. As the half continued, Boro looked most likely to score, with a couple of marauding runs from prop, Myles Colvin, and a superb sprint down the left flank by winger, Brendan Hill. Hill skipped through two tackles, but was eventually brought to a halt 5 yards from the line.
A stellar move from Boro captain, Jack McPhillips broke the deadlock. The skipper’s glorious step inside broke the York defence open. McPhillips drew his man, popping the ball out to number eight, Ollie Hodgson, who fed the ball along the line to winger, Aedan Moloney, crossing the line for a try in the corner. With kicking proving difficult in the blustery conditions, Moloney pushed the conversion wide, leaving the score at 5-0.
The penalty count remained high throughout the game and Boro often found themselves on the wrong end of the referee’s decisions. Hodgson was binned on the 30-minute mark for a high tackle, which unfortunately saw the York player, Charlie Rae, stretchered off with a lower leg injury. Boro’s Hill, who had been struggling after an earlier hit, was also replaced with Te’Kori Moore during the pause in play.
York took advantage of the extra man, and further penalties, to score a go-ahead try. A well-worked move, spinning the ball through hands forced an extra man with an overlap for a converted try (5-7). Gaining in confidence, York continued to surge forward, moving the ball along the backs, with fullback, Harry Shackleton looping well. York scrum half, Toby Atkin caused chaos, regularly breaking through, much to the delight of the visiting fans. Boro met it all with forthright defence, and was next to score despite being a man down. The home side was awarded a penalty immediately in front of the posts, just inside the 22. Moloney stepped up and nailed the kick, inching Middlesbrough ahead for a halftime score of 8-7.
The second half started tense and tight in the middle of the park. A nice cross-field kick from Boro flyhalf, Rob Carney looked like setting up Moloney to score again, but the bounce took the ball away from him. The York scrum started to exert some dominance, shoving Middlesbrough off their own scrums, and their persistence was awarded when Atkins sniped between the posts to score a converted try, to regain the lead for York, 8-14.
The home side fought back with two successive tries. Second row, Marcus Lang surged over for a converted try after a series of line-batters from the forwards (15-14), and substitute winger, Moore added a further 5 points as he finished off a beautiful move with a display impressive ball-handling. Moloney narrowly missed the second conversion (20-14), leaving the door open for York to stage a comeback with just minutes to go.
York pushed right till the end, with big tackles from the likes of Boro scrum half, Sam Gaudie and centre, Charlie Bourne keeping the visitors at bay. Middlesbrough prop, Matthew Helm was binned in the dying moments, leaving him watching on the sidelines as York forced their way back up the pitch. The home side finally managed to regain possession after a York knock on, securing the ball until the referee signalled regular time was over. The ball was kicked into touch and the final whistle blew, much to the relief of the Middlesbrough fans and players.
The result brings to an end Boro’s first season in Regional One North East after promotion from Regional Two North last season, and sends York into the next round of playoffs, where they still have an opportunity to survive the drop.
Player Coach, Ollie Hodgson paid tribute to Middlesbrough’s performance, successfully surviving the first season in a higher League, “We’ve achieved the aim we set at the start of the season, which was to secure our place at Level 5. A few important wins along the way gave us a platform, but it was our form towards the end of the season that really ensured our survival.
“That’s a huge credit to the lads. They showed real character to dig in and graft through a tough season, and to come out on top against some well-established Level 5 teams has been outstanding.
“The play-off was a nervy, but exciting game – exactly the kind you want to be involved in. I felt we controlled large parts of it and did the right things at key moments to get over the line. Credit to York as well – it was a proper battle, and we wish them all the best in their next play-off game.”
Captain, Jack McPhillips added, “I’m really proud that we have maintained our Level 5 status for next season, and I think it was well deserved. We hit form at the right time of the season, beating Blaydon, Cleckheaton and Harrogate back-to-back. This gave us vital momentum going into the play-off game against York, where we came out on top in a tight contest. York are a good side and they have been at this level for a number of years.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the team progress next season. I believe we will kick on from here.”
