Old Otliensians 88 – 19 Northallerton
Yorkshire RFU Silver Trophy Final, Apollo Capital Stadium, Harrogate, Saturday 9 May
Old Otliensians seal the league and cup double to cap off a remarkable Rugby Union season at Harrogate’s Apollo Capital Stadium, adding the Yorkshire Silver Trophy to their third straight Counties 2 Yorkshire league title with a fourteen-try rout of Northallerton.
It is the second time the club has lifted the Silver Trophy, having also won the competition in 2025, and on this evidence, it is hard to argue with their billing as one of the form sides in this part of the Yorkshire pyramid. Isaac Gillson crossed four times, Will Howarth added a hat-trick, and behind the back-line flair was the relentless influence of Luke Cowdell at number eight, who set up tries, scored one of his own and ran the game in green company.
A nervy opening swing
The first quarter promised an upset. Both sides looked uneasy in front of a crowd of around 80 people, and Northallerton struck first after eight minutes with a rolling maul. The conversion missed, but they led.
Otliensians replied within two minutes. Cowdell pounced on a poor clearance, sprinted fifty metres, and offloaded to Will Cooper. Cooper’s grubber set up Isaac Gillson to score in the corner.
Three minutes later, Cowdell intercepted another misjudged kick and quickly passed to centre Jake Bentley. Bentley pretended to move left, then darted under the posts to score. He then converted his own try. By the fifteen-minute mark, Otliensians led 12-5.
Northallerton, to their credit, would not lie down. After a sustained set of phases on the Otliensians’ line, they forced their way over for a converted second try on eighteen minutes to level the scores at 12-all.
From that point, Otliensians took command.
Gillson’s first-half hat-trick
From the restart, Otliensians’ backs immediately gained ground, exploiting gaps in the defence. In twenty-three minutes, Gillson broke through, running sixty metres, wrong-footing two defenders, and scoring under the posts. Bentley then converted, adding the extras.
Cooper collected another loose kick, passed to Will Howarth, who ran in untouched. Fly-half Ollie Eaves added a fifth before Gillson completed his hat-trick right before half-time, finishing a right-side move.
They led 38–12 at the break; the contest was settled. Otliensians could seal the double in the 2nd half.
Second Half Thrashing
Any hope that Northallerton would launch a second-half fightback vanished within a minute. Otliensians drove downfield from the restart, and Will Howarth crossed in the corner for his second.
The pattern was set: Cowdell broke near the line, and Harry Wales finished under the posts, making it 50–12. Substitute Connor Bateman raced fifty metres for the next, and Bentley’s conversion brought the side from Otley, Leeds, to 57–12.
Northallerton, by now visibly tiring, did still find time for a consolation score midway through the half, a moment that earned them the warm reception their effort deserved from the away end. It was, sadly, the cue for Otliensians to step on the gas again.
Replacement scrum-half Rob Lofthouse found Cooper for the next try, 62-19. Soon after, Bentley broke midfield, set up Howarth in support, and Cowdell powered through to score – 69–19.
Gillson added his fourth, sprinting from inside his half, and veteran John Offer scored in the final stages, a popular moment for one of the oldest squad members.
Fittingly, the last word went to Will Howarth. With the clock in the red, the season’s top try-scorer skirted down the left wing, dotted down, and sealed the 88–19 final.
What it means
Old Otliensians seal the double, winning a 3rd straight league title and their second Silver Trophy, capping their consistent form. Their mix of academy teens and senior leaders, tested since the quarter-final win over Leeds Corinthians, now stands validated against a Northallerton side that beat Halifax in the semi.
Will Howarth highlighted his side’s relentlessness throughout as a big factor in their victory.
For Northallerton, 88–19 stings, but the consolation try, resilience late in a tough match, and the team’s underdog victory against Halifax in the semi-finals serve as a reminder: reaching a county final is an achievement in itself.
