Sheffield Medicals RUFC 5 vs. Harrogate Pythons 1st XV 50
The Pythons kicked off at a cold Sheffield Medics with the wind behind them and were very quickly on the offensive. With strong drives from Steve Lennox and Nathan Wake a penalty on the home teams 10 metre line results in a line out on the 5m line. A clean take from Marcus Fotherby, The Pythons retain passion through several phases and Steve Smith crashes over the line, Will Clough adds the extras 0-7 5mins.
Within 2 phases from the kick off, The Pythons were back in the home 22. Committed drives from Calum Brock, Sandy Dunlop and Jon Pickard pushed the gain line further ahead. The Pythons win a scrum on 5m and their dominance in the set piece gives Clough the chance to touch down. He converts his try, 0-14 on 11mins.
Medics simply couldn’t gain any ground with Dunlop and Wake knocking them back in centre field and Sam Beagrie doing likewise out wide. Under severe pressure the home side lose possession and ‘club points record holder’ Clough executes a perfect 50/22 kick giving his team possession in the home 22. Once again clean possession from the Pythons dominance of the set piece with crash ball centre Tim Evans gaining valuable yards a slick pass to Beargie who charges in under the posts. Extras from Clough, 0-21 18mins.
A mistake at the restart gives The Pythons a scrum on half way. The Pythons pack march the home pack a full 20m down field and Clough and Carr release Evans and Beagrie to set up several attacking phases. Carr spots a chance out wide and floats a perfect pass to Harry Parrish to dot down in the corner. Clough adds the extras. 0-28 27 mins.
The Medics started to come back into the game after the restart. Some powerful runs from the home number 8 and slick hands in mid field pushed them closer to the line. But, strong defence from The Pythons held them out with the inevitable drives from Evans, Pickard and Jordan Payne putting play back in the home 22. A mistake at the breakdown and the home team are back in possession and attempt to run the ball out of defence. Some great anticipation from Carr and he intercepts a pass to touch down under the posts. James Audsley-Beck, Clough off injured, adds the extras. 0-35, 37 mins.
Parrish and Beargrie link well from the restart. Beagrie gains ground along the wing and is tackled on half way. Alert as ever, he off loads perfectly to supporting Ollie Myers to score under the posts from 50m. 0-40, half time.
The Pythons mount the phases early in the second half. Joe Bentham, back in the squad, takes play to the home 5m but loses the ball in the tackle. The Pythons pack disrupt the scrum, the ball pops out and Andy MacKay is quickest to react, touching down in the corner, 0-45 on 53 mins.
The next 10 minutes saw The Pythons begin to lose discipline. A series of penalties put the home team in possession and it became their turn to use the phases. A well worked move put The Medics inside centre into some space and he was quickly over the line. 5-45 on 74 mins.
A hanging ball in the wind from the restart and Jed Wolfram gathers possession to power over the line, 0-50 75 mins. The Pythons regained their discipline and made the home team defend hard until the final whistle.
With 8 wins (includes 1 walk over) on the bounce this puts The Pythons in a solid second place in Yorkshire 3.
