The wind and rain never stopped at The Jim Saynor ground as Harrogate Pythons entertained local rivals Wensleydale. Struggling to find form this season Dale arrived as underdogs but coped well with the dreadful conditions levelling both teams.
Rhys Cory and Ben Pryor carried well in The Pythons mid field taking play into the Dale 22 early on in the game. Playing with the wind the home side had an attacking line out 10m out. The ball is thrown short to the front but the referee deems it not to have gone 5m. Dale clear their lines. Dale are penalised at the breakdown. Max Sharp uses the wind to put the ball within 10m of the line. A technical offence in the line out gives Dale a free kick. They move the ball but knock on in front of the posts, scrum Pythons. Hugh Tatlow picks and drives and is hauled down 2m out. The ref spots an offside and Dale clear their lines.
Using their first real possession Dale spin the ball wide, the winger kicks ahead and the race is on. He dives on his own kick and slides 5m over the line, 0-5 on 10mins. Dale are penalised straight from the re start. Pryor steps up, 3-5. 2 phases later Pryor kicks another penalty for the lead, 6-5. The Pythons pack start setting phases with Joe Rowntree controlling play from 9. George Booth and Rory Gilbert batter their way through the middle. Repeated penalties from Dale frustrated at the break down earns them an inevitable yellow card. The Pythons were now controlling the set play. Marcus Fotherby and Hugh Tatlow dominated the line out and the pack executed some superb drives marching the home side down field. But possession and territory wasn’t converted into points with Dale scrambling the ball away. Max Sharp kicks a superb 50-20, Tatlow secures the line out and the drive begins. Dale are penalised 3m out, Payne takes a quick one but is held inches short. Joel Misseldine secures the ball and hits the white wash, 11-5 half time.
Dale now had the wind at their backs. The Pythons defence was superb with Sam Rowntree, Booth and Tatlow tackling everything. Fotherby was excellent in the line out stealing at least 2. Turn overs from Harry Jackson and Cory kept Dale at bay with Joe Rowntree clearing from 9. Some close passing worked well against the wind and The Pythons moved into the Dale 22. Pressure once again and Dale are penalised, Pryor kicks for goal and the wind holds the ball up inches short. With less than 5 minutes on the clock Dale hack the ball down field and set the ball 10m out from the home line. Several phases take Dale closer until one final push sees them break the defence, under the posts, 11-12. The referee announces that the game will restart and The Pythons regain possession from the kick off. The home side set phases and enter the Dale 22 and win a penalty just slightly further away than previously. Pryor steps up but is foiled again by the gusty wind. The ball hangs short and The Pythons regain possession. With 2m left to go the ball squirts out of a ruck and Dale kick it dead, full time.
Ater the game DoR Tom Baxter said, “Frustrating day in which we just didn’t adapt our game to the weather conditions. We dominated territory and possession in the first half but we didn’t capitalise on this and left at least 15 points from not kicking penalties when on offer or skill errors in key moments. We let this one slip and it hurts with the manner that we did, but we must not dwell too much on this. There are key lessons to learn from this week and make sure we are ready to go into next week’s fixture against Yarnbury.”
The Whittaker’s Distillery Man of The Match was presented by Jed Carr to Jordan Payne.
Next Saturday The 1st XV travel to the artificial surface at Yarnbury, kick off 3pm.
