Harrogate Pythons RUFC 1st XV 55 vs. Burley RUFC 10
Another 50 point haul makes it 10 wins in a row for Dan Bird’s men who now sit firmly in 2nd spot of Yorkshire 3.
The Pythons kicked off deep on a sunny afternoon leads to a clearance to the 22, Python’s ball. Secure ball and James Audsley-Beck, deputising at scrum half, gets his back line moving. Direct running from the start from Whittaker’s Gin Man of The Match Tim Evans and the away team give away a penalty at the breakdown. The Pythons opt to scrum and Audsley- Beck jinks over 5-0 om 5mins.
A knock on from the re start gives the away team possession and they begin to move through the phases. The Pythons defence is strong and uncompromising tackles from debutant Will Smith, Steve Lennox and Nathan Wake drive Burley back into their own half. The Pythons win a penalty and Liam Kernaghan drills the ball into the away 22. Scrappy ball gives Burley possession once again but the knock on under pressure on their own 10m line. Hugh Tatlow picks up at number 8, feeds Audsley-Beck who finds full back Harry Parrish who rounds the defence to pass back inside to Audsley-Beck who sprints over for his second. Jed Wolfram adds the extras, 12-0 on 13mins.
A combination of savage tackling from Smith and Sandy Dunlop with direct running from Evans and the home team were quickly back on attack. Quick hands from Parrish to Max Sharp who feeds Evans, just too powerful from 15m for the away defence. 17-0 on 20mins.
The Pythons win a scrum on their 10m line. Evans carries 15m and shows his passing ability with an inch perfect long pass to Sam Beagrie to race down the touchline and deliver a perfectly weighted pass to the supporting Parrish. Wofram coverts, 24-0 on 25 mins.
Burley win a scrum on their own 10m line and move the ball quickly to the wing. Beagie’s defence was superb tackling the winger close to touch. With support from Evans both clear out the attacking players with Evans carrying the ball forward and off loading to Tatlow. 5 m further and the ball is secure at the breakdown for Audsley-Beck to hoist a perfect box kick for the advancing Parrish to race onto and touch down. 29-0 on 30mins.
Evans carries the ball some 30m from the kick off and Wake continues the phases. With the ball moving quickly across the field Marcus Fotherby and Jordan Payne continue the driving work. Will Butler spots Tatlow making a run from 10m out and delivers a great off load for Tatlow to reach out and touch down on the line. Wolfram adds the conversion 36-0 half time.
Burley began the second half with more intensity and were quickly pressuring The Python’s line. The defensive line held and possession came back to the home side. Evans, again, was too fast and powerful for the defence eventually being hauled to ground on the away 22 line. Quick recycling from Payne and Smith feeds Audsley-Beck to sprint under the posts. Wolfram with the extras 50-0 on 52 minutes.
Nino Cutino and Scott Irvine took over the hard yards in mid field. An off side at the breakdown gives Burley possession and they begin to work the phases with some forceful running and ball retention. Pressure tells and the home defence is breached in the corner for a well deserved try. 50-5 on 66mins.
The Pythons quickly regained possession from the kick off and began building the plays once again. Sharp cuts a brilliant line across half way and carries close to the Burley 22 putting Beagrie into the open to dive over. 55-5 on 70 mins.
A knock on from the kick off gifts Burley possession and an off side at the breakdown a penalty 10m out. Quick thinking by the Burley 9 and he catches The Pythons off guard scampering over, 55-10 on 75mins. Which turned ou to be the final score.
Chairman’s guest Richard Fisk chose the Whittaker’s Gin Man of The Match and presented Tim Evans a bottle of Whittaker’s finest!
“Burley have had some good results against strong teams this season and they played well today. We created and took our chances”, said Dan Bird. “Our back line is working well and we can fill gaps due to injury or unavailabilities from our squad. It helps when we get 35-40 players training as one squad everyone know the plays. Big challenges next week as our 1’s take on Castleford and our 2’s travel to Leos – we’re looking forward to it”, he added.
