Yorkshire Carnegie 17, Worcester 36

YORKSHIRE Carnegie, who led 14-0 in the first half and were level at 17-17 in the closing stages, could not celebrate their change of ownership with a Championship victory on Saturday.

Carnegie, whose buy-out by Yorkshire Tykes Ltd was announced on Boxing Day, were rewarded for their first-half domination by Harry Leonard penalties after four and eight minutes.

They then added a try by Rob Vickerman after the ball slipped from Chris Pennell's grasp following a Christian Georgiou break.

A third Leonard penalty after a strong Richard Beck break extended the margin further.

But the leaders hit back via tries by Mat Gilbert, following a driving line-out, and Pennell in the corner, Ryan Lamb converting the initial try to help haul the score back to 14-12 by the interval.

Committed defence denied the Warriors a try early in the second half after they won two penalties but Sam Smith's try in the corner gave the visitors the lead for the first time in the 51st minute.

Although home skipper Ryan Burrows was stopped by a thunderous Pennell tackle, Carnegie had the confidence to match Worcester by going for a try when they won a penalty but the hosts were held up over the line after a five-metre scrum.

Nevertheless, Yorkshire levelled at 17-17 thanks to a Leonard penalty – but they lost their grasp on the game in the final eight minutes.

Smith capped a period of pressure with his second try before an interception led to his hat-trick.

The home side still had the chance of a bonus point, only for Leonard to knock on with the line beckoning.

And Worcester made the final score even more flattering when Smith grabbed his fourth try after spotting a gap in the Carnegie defence.

Ignacio Mires' conversion took the margin of victory to 19 points.