Harrogate opened the scoring after good scrum ball was quickly spread to winger Oli Rosillo. His outside break found opposite winger Harry Barnard in support who scored an excellent team try converted by David Doherty. The home pressure, built on good scrum ball, continued and forced Sale into conceding a penalty. Doherty’s kick made it 10-0 after 15 minutes.

Harrogate continued to have the edge with scrum half Danny Matthews’s kicking from the base keeping Sale on the back foot. However, after 20 minutes play he had to leave the field with an eye injury. Substitute Will Morecombe proved to be an able replacement though Matthew’s doggedness was sadly missed. Sale scored almost immediately later. Centre, Jack Moorhouse broke the Harrogate midfield cover for an excellent individual try converted by Liam McGovern. Honours were even for the remainder of the half.

The second half opened with a series of atypical Harrogate errors. Good line-out ball was surrendered through allowing the Sale pack through a gap. A bad knock-on, from a counter attack then created loose ball which was snapped up by Moorhouse for a converted try. Minutes later, Sale stand-off, Chris Johnson picked up another Harrogate defensive knock-on for yet another converted try.

Although this was the final score of the match, the game was far from over. Attacks from both sides were well contained by 2 good defences. Harrogate built more attacks from increasingly good scrum ball and were camped on the Sale line for the final 5 minutes of the match. Sale were penalised twice and, each time Harrogate opted for a scrum. Eventually, the Harrogate scrum was penalised and Sale cleared. Harrogate then won turnover ball and launched a backs counter attack but the match ended with another crucial knock-on.

Harrogate: Doherty, Barnard, Naylor, Minikin, Rosillo, Fox, Matthews, Purkiss-McEndoo, Yorke, Dennis, J Brady,
S Brady, J Coser, G Coser, Heaton. Subs:- Reaveley, Maycock, Harvey, Edwards, Morecombe

Sale: McGovern, Connolly, Moorhouse, S Rawlings, Odogwu, Johnson, Stelmazek, Birchnall, Longmore, Sanderson, Davies, Postlethwaite, G Rawlings, Alles. Subs:- Kelly, Briggs, Hughes, Neary, Townsend.

Referee: Mattheaus Rozier (RFU)

Match report by Bill Barrack