HUDDERSFIELD RU began the build-up to National III North with a 17-14 friendly win at Beverley.
Director of rugby Mark Sowerby used the game to run the rule over several players with little first-team experience, and was pleased with what he saw.
Tom Ainsworth played at scrum half in the absence of the honeymooning Damian Clayton and was very impressive.
And James Bodsworth also stepped up from the academy to give his coach options for the second row.
Fly half Chris Johnson was joined in the side by brother Matt, who has not played rugby for 10 years but showed a lightning turn of speed in scoring a try in the corner.
“The main idea was to get everyone back into the swing, and all 27 players we took got some useful game time,” said Sowerby.
“Tom Ainsworth was undoubtedly the star of the show, and in Damian’s absence, he took his chance really well.
“It was also good to see James Bodsworth step up, and as usual, there were solid performances from the Paxman brothers (Lee and Ben).
“It’s always good to get a win, but this match was not about the result. It was very much an experimental session, and we were really only about two-thirds strength.”
Huddersfield have another friendly on Saturday, this time at Chester, as they fine-tune for the big league opener at Fylde seven days later.
