MALTON & Norton RUFC will kick off their Yorkshire One campaign in good heart on Saturday after a 57-0 victory at Heath in round one of the Yorkshire Shield.

The Ryedale side travel to Doncaster Phoenix for their league opener having already booked a second round slot in the Shield, where they will host Acklam on Saturday, November 8.

Malton travelled to Halifax with a side containing several new faces and one or two players in unaccustomed positions and ran in nine tries without reply.

Malt applied the pressure from the first whistle and, when the lightweight pack drove their much heavier opponents back at the first scrum, the platform was set for the visitors to use their slippery backs to great effect.

In the fifth minute, good handling in the backs, particularly from new centres Vusumzi Dyantjies and Zwelakhe Sodladla, set up second row Sean Emms to storm over for the first try.

The fitness of the Malton pack, with hooker James Thornton to the fore, was sapping the energy from the home forwards as Heath were kept penned in their own half.

The floodgates opened after 25 minutes when, from a ruck in centre field, Malton wing Sizwe Zondo picked up a loose ball and sprinted home for Ian Cooke to convert.

Three minutes later, Malton were denied a further score when prop Nick Salisbury was held up over the line. However, his reward came from the resultant scrum.

A pick up and drive by number eight Mark Bradshaw was carried on by the rest of the pack and Salisbury was credited with the touch down. Cooke again added the extras.

The final score of the half came on the stroke of half-time. Malton were awarded a penalty under the Heath posts and opted for a scrum instead of a certain three points.

Another good drive gave good ball for scrum-half Paul Angus to feed fly-half Nick Daley, who showed great skill to waltz over for a well deserved try. Cooke converted for a 26-0 lead.

For the second period, Charlie Birkett and Callum Stark replaced Angus and Zondo, but the rhythm was undisturbed as scores came at regular intervals.

After 52 minutes, a tap penalty by Malton set Stark on his way. With the line beckoning, a Heath player illegally tripped him and the referee awarded a penalty try. Cooke's conversion was good.

Five minutes later, a good steal of the ball at a Heath lineout by Emms set fellow second row John Lumley on his way for the next try.

With 70 minutes gone, a good up and under from Daley was followed by the speedy Malton backs. When the home full-back failed to take the ball cleanly a hack on by Dyantjies was followed by Stark, who comfortably won the race to touch down.

From the restart, a break by Bradshaw was carried on by Sam Triffitt before he released the backs for Angus, back on as a replacement, to scamper over in the corner.

Two minutes later Cooke set off on the long sprint to the line and his conversion rounded off a good day for Malton.

Spokesman Bill Laidler said: "There were a number of excellent performances in the game, but the stand-out player was Malton fly-half Daley, who was superb in everything he did.

"From a team perspective the fact that the Heath could not break the defence and were kept at arms length throughout showed that the defensive drills which coach Chris Creber has concentrated on have been productive.

"Doncaster Phoenix will be a different proposition, but we can go into the game with renewed confidence."

Malton: I Cooke, S Zondo, Z Sodladla, V Dyantjies, K Leiataua, N Daley, P Angus, R Featherstone, J Thornton, N Salisbury, S Emms, J Lumley, B Woodhouse, S Triffitt, M Bradshaw. Subs (both used): C Birkett, C Stark.