Westoe won deservedly though the game was a lot closer than the score suggests. Again, Harrogate were unlucky not to have secured a single bonus point.

From the kick off, Harrogate’s pack set up a long driving maul to create a series of attacking moves. A minor dust up, involving many players, resulted in a Harrogate penalty from which Mike Aspinall kicked the 3 points. Westoe then counter attacked and Harrogate were penalised for “hands in” at a ruck. A Mark Bedworth line kick gave Westoe an attacking line out from which hooker, Adair, drove over to score a try converted by Bedworth.

Further Westoe attacks were well contained and Aspinall put in several excellent clearing kicks. Westoe then went offside from a Harrogate attacking move and Aspinall’s penalty made it 7-6 after 20 minutes. Almost immediately, Westoe’s outstanding young No8, Miles Scott, drove over to score after a driving maul. Play was even for the rest of the half with Aspinall orchestrating dangerous looking attacking moves. Sam Bottomley made a welcome return in the centre for Harrogate having landed in the UK less than a day ago after an extended holiday in Greece.

On the stroke of half time, Westoe went further ahead from a Harrogate offside offence. However, Westoe had had the benefit of the considerable slope in the pitch so the 15-6 lead did not look insurmountable.

The Harrogate pack took control of the set pieces in the second half with Jake Brady outstanding in tight and loose play. An apparently good try was disallowed in the left corner but a further Aspinall penalty reduced the deficit and waves of Harrogate attacks followed. Frustratingly, the final pass kept going astray. A huge Bedworth kick from a penalty gave Westoe a 5 metre lineout and a driving maul was set up. This time Nesbit was the scorer in a carbon copy of the game’s opening try.

Aspinall then gathered an attacking Westoe kick at pace and more waves of Harrogate attacking rugby followed. Flanker, Alex Rieder thundered over to score. Aspinall made a brilliant mark from a searching Bedworth kick but the referee didn’t hear the call and seemed to have awarded a Westoe try until the Assistant Referee intervened. Harrogate continued to attack but Westoe’s replacement back, Gavin Kerr, pounced on a bad midfield knock-on and hacked on to score.

Still more Harrogate attacks followed and an attacking Aspinall cross kick was tantalisingly a little too long for James Rothwell to gather. Westoe then went offside and quick interpassing from the subsequent penalty created space for Ed Smithies to score the game’s final try.

Westoe: Rayner, Banks, Clark, Haswell, Dixon, Bedworth, Judson, Nesbit, Adair, Ibbottson, Bird, Robinson, Okwe-Pearson, Richards, Scott.

Harrogate: Smithies, Rothwell, Dench, Bottomley, Almond (Chalmers 75), Aspinall, Wickham, Browne, Maycock (Reavely 79), Fraser (Watt 75), Brady, Spencer, Rieder, Harland (Beaumont 57), Enston (Johnson 63),

Referee: Revis Phillips (RFU)