Though Pocklington finished in fifth place they missed out on promotion from Yorkshire 2 by just one point. With the leagues being expanded to 14 sides per division, the top four clubs all went up.

Pocklington, pictured above, will know in their hearts that they should have been one of those sides as on their day they were a match for any of the top sides in the division – their 10-10 draw with the eventual champions Wheatley Hills was as a good a game of Yorkshire 2 rugby you could wish for – but several slip ups against lowly sides, both away and at home, in the end cost them dear.

It was the third season in a row that Pocklington have missed promotion by a whisker. Nevertheless they will relish the challenge of a new season with the goal of aiming for promotion by topping the table, rather than by sneaking in by the back door.

And there will be plenty of competition in Yorkshire 2 for 2009-10 against several of the club’s traditional rivals, while the teams coming up from Yorkshire 3 mean a host of East Yorkshire derbies with Goole, Hullensians and Hessle.

Pocklington ended with a season’s record of P28 W13 D2 L13 F587 A508, scoring 87 tries, 66 of them from the backs.

Halfback Ben Rees was the leading try scorer with 11, while threequarter Nick Bennett had a prolific campaign scoring 232 points, including 10 tries, and ending with a bang with a 37 point haul against Yarnbury. Pocklington’s season was probably most notable for the youth of the side, and no fewer than 14 teenagers represented the 1st XV, spearheaded by player of the year, Jack Holbrough.

The Panthers also relied on youth, and frequently half their team was made up of Colts. They can be well satisfied with some excellent victories and a final record of P17 W9 D1 L7 F332 A291.

The Merovingians had a difficult season but finished on a high note with two fine performances and resounding wins in their last three games. The Colts started slowly, then showed that on their day they could blow away the best sides in the Yorkshire 3 division, finishing fifth in the league and reaching the Yorkshire Bowl semi-finals.

While all the teams will be looking to improve in performance and results in 2009-10 (the 130th season of Pocklington rugby), it will also be an active season off the pitch with a busy programme of fundraising towards the club’s development plans.

It gets underway with a car boot sale at the club this Sunday, May 31 from 8.30am.