Cumbria's Three Counties Championship title hopes go up in smoke with defeat against Yorkshire

Cumbria's chances of a first Three Counties Championship title since 2015 were dashed as they were outclassed by Yorkshire at Millom.

Hopes were high for the County after last weekend's superb performance against Lancashire at Leigh Miners, where they came from 10-0 down to register a 22-18 win.

However, in wintry conditions at a freezing cold Devonshire Road, there was to be no fairytale ending as once more they went behind 10-0 in the opening stages.

They had no answer to the much quicker and smarter Tykes, a team that was well led around the immaculate Millom pitch by stand-off and veteran prop forward Jamie Fields and their half-backs.

The opening minutes were all Yorkshire as they piled on the pressure with some fine attacking play, Cumbria did well to hold out until the eight minute when they went 6-0 behind.

It took four defenders to haul down Yorkshire's second row man, but he was impeded in the tackle ten yards out and from the tap, their hooker went close, sending a neat ball to Fields who was unstoppable as he touched down under the posts.

This spurred on the visitors as they had Cumbria on the back foot, with them conceding a penalty for ripping the ball out of the tackle.

Full back Craig McShane joined the line before being hauled down. A quick play the ball saw scrum-half Danny Rowse link with Fields and Keiron Murphy before darting through a gap to score, Fields being wide of the target with the conversion.

Further points were denied when a fine raid ended with winger Gareth Blackburn going in at the corner, only for a knock-on in the build-up being ruled.

Cumbria were rarely in the Tykes half, seeing little of the ball in hand for the first quarter of the game. But they did apply some pressure, with good yards coming from Matt Bewsher and Carl McBain, which resulted in a stab to the line from Noah Robinson, which was swept up by McShane.

Sam Walsh then pulled clear, hogging the touchline as he raced down the wing, but on hand with a try-saving tackle was Jake Stockdale.

But on the stroke of half-time, the home side went further behind as pressure paid off for Murphy to crash over for an unconverted try.

Cumbria had it all to do, but did apply pressure early in the second half, with Saunders and Jackson linking to send Leon Crellin to the line, only for the home side to run out of tackles.

Yorkshire settled to go further ahead on 50 minutes as Rowse fed Nathan Slater, who went on a curving run to cut through a yawning gap to go in unopposed Blackburn kicked the goal for 0-20.

It was all too much for the home side, who rarely put pressure on the Tykes line and they went further behind on the hour mark. Rowse sent Fields to the line but he was held up, but from the restart, quick hands paved the way for Slater to go over for Fields to convert, 0-26.

Robinson forced a drop out after a neat kick over the visitors line only for Jordan O'Leary to drop the ball taking play to the line and to round off a fine victory for Yorkshire, Walsh raced in for his second.

Cumbria: Stockdale (Barrow Island), Staffieri (Walney), Jones (Barrow Island), Crellin (Egremont), Postlethwaite (Millom), Jackson (Barrow Island), Saunders (Ulverston), Goulding (Cockermouth), Robinson (Millom), McBain (Barrow Island), Bewsher (Egremont), Nelson (Barrow Island), Dawson (Millom).

Interchange: A Kelly (Millom), Graham (Ellenborough), O'Leary (Seaton), Bayliss (Hindpool).