After a close contest resulting in an 18-14 defeat for Harrogate when they last played Scarborough away the Ladies were determined to make it two in a row.

With a Scarborough kick off it gave Harrogate an immediate chance to attack upon receiving the ball which they took full advantage of. The Ladies showed their strength in attack from the start apart from a few fumbles because of the wet and windy weather.

Although Scarborough showed strength in the breakdown area with some successful turnover balls they couldn’t break through the defensive line and were kept at bay in their half of the pitch by strong scrummaging from Harrogate and some heavy defence. After Harrogate gained possession the backs acted quickly and the ball landed in hands of Fullback, Ailish Clear. Clear made a swift sprint and dodged the defence to score Harrogate’s first try, the score was 5-0 with no conversion.

A second try came shortly after a fast forward play was followed by a streak up the left-hand side of the pitch by Winger, Sarah-Jayne Pritchard. Pritchard made it successfully over the line but lost the ball before she had chance to put it down. Luckily Centre, Leah Birkin saved the day by making an excellent pick up and scoring the try and making it 10-0.

After some persistent play from both sides, Harrogate received a penalty which resulted in a strong and successful line out close to Scarborough’s 22 metre line. The forwards mauled their way further towards the Scarborough try line making sure Scrum half, Rose Jay received the ball. Jay made a dummy which flouted the opposition enabling her to score under the sticks. This try was converted by Clear and made the score 17-0.

With only a couple of plays left before half time Harrogate made it obvious they weren’t ready to stop there and Birkin managed to take another try before the half time whistle with the score standing at 22-0.

From the start of the second half the Harrogate forwards continued to work as a pack consistently causing Scarborough problems. However, despite a tweet posted on social media by Scarborough suggesting that Harrogate refused to match numbers, changes were made after an injury was sustained by the Scarborough Hooker. A request was made by Scarborough for scrums to become uncontested which was abided. Additionally, a Harrogate forward was taken off to match.

The first try of the second half came from some brilliant play by the Harrogate backs at the breakdown and Fullback, Clear took her second try of the game bringing the score to 27-0. Scarborough were managing to sustain their strength in the rucks and were also doing an excellent job at protecting the ball in the breakdown. However, Harrogate got stuck in and managed to make a turnover followed by some perfect passes across the back line to then be polished off by a try from Centre, Caroline Cockshott.

This was closely followed by another Harrogate breakthrough as Substitute, Beatriz Gallego made an impressive sprint up the left-hand side of the pitch scoring under the sticks. Gallego’s try was converted by Forward, Helena Landau and the score was 39-0 with just under 15 minutes to go.

At this point, Scarborough stepped up their attack ensuring Harrogate were playing defensively for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately for Scarborough, even though Harrogate were being hammered the defensive line stayed intact denying them any breakthroughs. With minutes left Harrogate managed a final turnover which Centre, Evie Tonkin made worth their while. Tonkin screamed over Scarborough’s try line to take one last try, the final score was 44-0 to Harrogate.

Harrogate Ladies play West Park Leeds Ladies II on Sunday 29th January at Rudding Lane, kick off at 14:00. As always, the team want and welcome your support and encourage your loudest #RuddingRoars