Heworth amateurs secure promotion

York-based amateur rugby league side Heworth have been promoted to the National Conference League Division One.

They were guaranteed a top three finish in Division Two with Saturday's 44-24 win at Waterhead.

Press Officer Ken Sykes told BBC Radio York: "It's been a gradual process over the last two or three years, we've come up trumps with a pretty young team."

Heworth will finish second in the table if they win their last game of the season against Halifax-based Ovenden.

Sykes added: "We thought we had a chance (of promotion) if we got a good start, and we had a reasonable start.

"We've added one or two extra players this year, but we've a lot of young lads who've been coming through over the last two or three years and they were bound to get better this year."

Sykes praised player-coach Chris Smith, who scored the final try in the win over Waterhead.

We're playing with some confidence now and we've got some decent players

Heworth Press Officer Ken Sykes

"He's made a massive difference," Sykes added, "his professionalism, all the lads respect him very much."

Heworth will be pleased to go up after Acorn, their rival club from the other side of York, won two promotions to move from Division Two to the Premier Division.

"It's friendly rivalry," added Sykes, "they've had a youth policy which has been going for quite a number of years and it's taken a while to come through."

Sykes believes a youth policy is the way forward: "It's the only way really, because where do you get players from, you've got to grow your own."

Acorn defied the critics who tipped them for relegation after each promotion and Sykes hopes that Heworth will do the same next season.

"It'll be tough, there are some stronger sides in there," he added, "but you never know, lots of people were tipping Acorn for the drop and they couldn't have got that any more wrong could they?

"We're playing with some confidence now and we've got some decent players so it's up to them to rise to the occasion and I think they probably will do."