Harrogate 17 - Middlesbrough 34

A Harrogate side short of players away on representative duty or through injuries and illness put in a sterling performance against the champions of last year. It was the home side that took an early lead, when a drive of forty metres by the forwards led to a penalty, and quick thinking Joe Rowntree cross kicked for the flying winger Josh Adamson to collect and touchdown, with Joe Rowntree converting.

Middlesbrough then showed their class with three unanswered tries. 'Boro not only showed pace and strength in flowing moves that led to two tries but also an awareness of space when an undefended blindside was exploited following a scrum to make the score 7-20 at half time.

After the break, interesting interpretation of the breakdown laws saw both sides having players sin binned. Boro took advantage of the disruption to run in two further tries. However the fully restored Harrogate side did not allow their heads to drop and with powerful runs and flowing passing created two scoring opportunities for Noel Minikin to make the final score a respectable 17-34.