Once again the sun brought a good crowd to The Jim Saynor Ground as Harrogate Pythons 1st XV took on Hullensians.
Natsuki Barclay put The Pythons on the offensive with a sniping blind side run. Hull concede a penalty on 5m and Ollie Macnab kicks for the line out. Secure ball from Hugh Tatlow and the maul moves forwards. George Booth spots a gap and powers over through the defence, 0-5 after 3mins.
Hull respond well and centres Ben Pryor and Jack Whiting put some decisive tackles in to halt the advance. Hull win a scrum on the home 22 and throw a long pas to their centre who spills the ball. Ever alert Harry Brayshaw gathers the ball makes 15m, passes to Pryor who releases Bailey Bromberg to sprint 50m to score under the posts. Pryor with the extras, 12-0 on 8mins.
Mattie Tuff is on hand to support Booth and Tatlow as they advance with strong runs through the Hull mid field. Hull concede a penalty on their 22 and Pryor makes it 15-0 on 15mins. Hull clearly rattled concede penalties and a yellow card as Rhys Cory and Whiting find gaps in the defence. Pryor adds 3 after Whiting is dangerously up ended in front of the posts, 18-0 on 22mins.
Some slick handling between Macnab, Pryor and Bromberg release Brayshaw to sprint round the defence to score under the posts. Pryor slots the 2, 25-0 on 30mins.
Hull come back after securing sloppy ball on the home 22. Some great interplay and the away centre touches down under the posts, 25-7 on 32 mins. 2 quick penalties see Hull cross the line twice more before half time, 25-21.
The second half begins with both sides defending pressure on their lines. Hull break the deadlock when they create an overlap for their winger to score, 25-28. Whiting is cut down in mid field and Hull receive a second yellow card. Macnab kicks for the corner. Hull win the ball but are turned over on the second phase. Barclay whips the ball out to Pryor who times a perfect pass to Bell who uses his pace to round the defence and score, Pryor with the extras and The Pythons secure their vital bonus point, 32-28 on 70 mins. Hull create an overlap to score in the corner, 32-33 and a soft penalty under the posts gives their prop the opportunity to charge over, 32 -40. Pryor kicks a penalty for a second bonus point but Hull deny The Pythons that point when they opt to kick a penalty on the last play of the game, final score 35-43.
After the game Coach John Liley said, “I was immensely proud of the entire squad of players that performed today.
We demonstrated a ruthlessness not seen all season as well as displaying the qualities that prove we have the ability to be a top 4 team.
We applied early pressure that forced Hullensians to make errors that we then capitalised on. We took our foot off the pedal just when we had created a comfortable lead that allowed Hullensians back into the game. All credit goes to our lads for remaining composed to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game at the end.
We can still finish in a very respectable 6th place that is our focus leading into the last couple of games that demonstrates the huge improvement we have made this year.”
This single bonus point makes sure the 8th placed Pythons remain in Yorkshire 1 next season. With a 10 point lead over 10th place Rishworth and a better results record The Pythons can finish no lower than 9th place with 2 games left. Final league movements aren’t decided until early May with 2 up and up to 3 down in Yorkshire 1. The Pythons remaining matches are against 4th placed Keighley away on 22nd March and finally against 11th placed Leodiensian at The JSG on 5th April.
