THE 1895 Cup opened today with York Knights taking on Newcastle Thunder in Group 3 of the competition.
With Newcastle’s struggles in the off-season made clear after financial issues almost forced the club under, Thunder were always going to up against it against a York side determined to compete near the top of the Championship table.
The north-east club had announced that they would not compete in the League One in October before a group of volunteers, led by passionate chairman Keith Christie, succeeded previous owners Newcastle Rugby Ltd and confirmed that their application to rejoin the third tier had been accepted by the RFL in late December.
Of course, Newcastle are now a third tier side with a mismatch team under head coach Chris Thorman going down 114-10 to the Knights this afternoon.
It is the biggest margin of victory in this competition since its creation back in 2019, with the Newcastle drubbing making Doncaster’s 70-6 win over West Wales Raiders pale into insignificance.
York will face a much sterner challenge when they go up against Daryl Powell’s Wakefield Trinity on February 4, whilst, for Thunder, it is perhaps another sign of where the club currently sits.
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