Harrogate kicked off and immediately advanced into Scunthorpe’s side of the pitch, laying the pressure on thickly from the start. The opposition were heavy in their attack with the forwards dominating, slowly playing the phases and protecting the ball in the rucks. However, Harrogate’s defence was determined and forced a knock on winning a scrum for their side.
The opening try soon followed as Fly half, Evie Tonkin homed in and touched down between the posts. Helena Landau converted Tonkin’s try making it 7-0, Harrogate had taken an early lead.

Scunthorpe fought back after the restart and pushed the ball back into the Harrogate half after an initial advance. After a period of intense defence for Harrogate their opposition was awarded a penalty which ensured a line out in close range of their try line. The opposition made moves to maul the line out but Harrogate were ready and defended well denying Scunthorpe a try by holding them up on the line.

Harrogate’s priority was to quickly shift the ball out of their territory which they executed well and were soon back on the attack in Scunthorpe’s half. After they were awarded a penalty, Scrum half Rose Jay kicked for touch and it was Harrogate’s turn for a line out in spitting distance of the try line. The forwards mauled the line out showing Scunthorpe how it’s done, the ball made its way back to Jay who broke off making easy work of stepping the remaining defence and scoring under the posts. Landau added the extra 2 points to bring the score to 14-0.

The remainder of the half was predominantly defensive for Harrogate, Scunthorpe dictated the attack and made a second attempt at mauling a line out close to the try line. Although Harrogate held Scunthorpe up for a second time they conceded consecutive penalties for over engagement in rucks and struggled to rid the ball from the danger zone of their own try line.
Nevertheless, Harrogate luckily managed to take back control just in time for the half time whistle.

After the interval, Harrogate came back refreshed which was obvious after a quick break and series of passes across the backline polished off by Jay scoring her second try of the day. No conversion followed but Harrogate’s lead was increased to 19-0. Harrogate caught the ball clean and advanced on the restart; even though Scunthorpe’s defence met them in the middle the forwards kept the ball secure and left it to the backs to quickly move the ball and make ground.
In no time the ball was in the top left corner of the pitch and a fourth try was threatening. In arms reach of the try line a Harrogate knock on temporarily put a halt to their progress but this was quickly overcome as Centre, Evie Jackson made a tackle on the Scunthorpe Scrum half forcing a turnover. The ball made its way back inside and it was Prop, Sarah Kemp who steamed through and scored Harrogate’s next try, Landau converted to make the score 26-0.

The Harrogate backs took over the game with exceptional passing across the back line and it wasn’t long before Jay made it a hatrick, Landau added the conversion to make it 33-0. This was closely followed by a second impressive display by the backs which was polished off by Morrissey who drove through the defence to touch down right of the posts extending Harrogate’s lead to 38-0.

The final whistle was in sight but Scunthorpe gave one it one last shot at mauling over the line, it was third time lucky and they managed to bag a late try without converting making it 38-5. With one play left Harrogate stayed strong and Tonkin managed to touch down for a second time, Landau added the extra 2 points to bring the final score to 45-5 just as the whistle blew.

Harrogate Ladies will play in the quarter finals of the Junior Plate competition on Sunday 19th February when they host Amber Valley Ladies KO 14:00 and also play their penultimate league game this Sunday 12th February away against Acklam.