Queensbury High School's Year Eight girls succeeded where Brian Noble's Great Britain team failed last Saturday - by winning a trophy at Elland Road.

The school, who had won the Powergen tournament last May as Year Sevens, beat Castleford's Airedale High School 5-1 on tries, chiefly thanks to an impressive second-half display.

Try-scorers were Ashley Butler (2), Sarah Ashton, Larisa Deaves and Rebecca Walsh.

The match was a curtain-raiser to the Tri-Nations final between Great Britain and Australia, and Queensbury's reward was to play their match and hold the trophy aloft in front of thousands of fans.

The trophy was presented by Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain centre Chev Walker. Cheered on by parents, relatives and friends, Queensbury won the match mainly due to their defensive prowess.

Queensbury's head of PE Frances Hammond said: "Airedale had one player in particular who was dangerous, but Rebecca Walsh and Melanie Fish snuffed her out with some bone-crunching tackles.

"However, it was a tremendous team effort and the girls would not be where they are today but for the coaching of Sharon Brooke, who isn't even a teacher at our school. She is a caretaker." Queensbury's victory ended Airedale's hopes of a double as their boys had claimed their title a week earlier at the KC Stadium in Hull ahead of Great Britain's Tri-Nations victory over New Zealand.

"Airedale played well and should be proud of their achievements as they held their own throughout much of the match," said the Rugby Football's League's national development manager Andy Harland. "However, Queensbury were the stronger team in the second half and deserved their victory.

"Both teams set high standards but anyone who wants to claim the trophy from Queensbury is going to have to work hard on the training ground."

Support and enthusiasm for rugby league among Yorkshire youngsters was reflected in the semi-finals at South Leeds Stadium earlier this month when both Queensbury and Airedale were unbeaten after coming up against schools from across the region.

Harland added: "All the teams which took part deserve credit but we hope those who played in front of so many fans on Saturday will have a memory they can cherish forever.

"Who knows? It may have been enough to inspire some national champions of the future."

Now it is up to Queensbury High's boys' teams to uphold the school's honour. Both the Year Ten and Year 11 teams have qualified for the Yorkshire finals as top seeds and the Year Nine boys are in as third seeds.

Yorkshire Water sponsored the tournament under the banner of the company's Cool Schools campaign, which aims to educate children about the importance of proper hydration - both on the sports pitch and in the classroom.