Northallerton RUFC 1st XV 19 – 24 Harrogate Pythons RUFC 1st XV
Match Report & Pictures by Julian Tatlow.
Harrogate Pythons visited Northallerton and managed to cling on to their top position with a bonus point win. Quickly into the action, the visitors showed their phase play with Jon Pickard and Steve Smith gaining hard yards before centre Tim Evans crashes over on 3 minutes Jed Carr adds the extras. James Audsley-Beck’s quick thinking at a tap penalty puts Jack Hall into space with Evans waiting outside to cross the line once again. But the referee penalised Evans for jumping through a tackle. Northallerton clear to their 10m line but are penalised at the line out.
The Pythons pile the pressure back on with secure ball and Audsley-Beck controlling the plays from scrum half. Determined play from Ed Challis, Hall and Sam Beagrie and the home side knock on under their posts. Calum Brock feeds Audsley-Beck from the scrum and he steps over the line. 0 -12 on 10 mins.
The home side hold back the onslaught from the kick off and a rushed clearance finds Bailey Bromberg in his own half who shows his pace and strength to score a superb try in the corner, Carr with the extras 0-19 on 30 mins.
Northallerton win the ball at the kick off but Brock turns it over for Liam Kernoghan to feed Evans who carries to the home 22. Quick ball through Carr and Beagrie rounds the defence to score in the corner 0-24 half time.
Northallerton come back hard in the 2nd half but despite strong defence from The Pythons manage to cross the line 3 times. Some missed chances keeps the score line at 24 for The Pythons and the game finishes 19 – 24. After the game Coach Bird said, “Above all else it’s great to achieve a 5 point win on the road and maintain our position in the league. As a squad we continue to demonstrate fantastic depth in achieving this result. The second half gave us a handful of moments to reflect on and learn from in the week”.
