After suffering a tough 31-5 beating at the hands of Bishop Auckland in December, Harrogate Ladies approached their final league game against the rivals with apprehension. However, it is clear that the memory of their previous defeat under dreadful conditions and a home advantage spurred the team on to put up their biggest fight yet.

Though it was a Harrogate kick off into Bishop’s half, the home side made sure to start well and put on an impressive chase forcing an early knock on. The home side’s first score came a mere 3 minutes in when Fly Half Evie Tonkin touched down between the posts. Full Back, Ailish Clear converted to ensure Harrogate secured an early 7-0 lead, much to the visitor’s dismay.

Harrogate received the ball well on the restart and made instant headway back into Bishop’s half. Though Bishop managed the turnover it wasn’t long before they had given away a penalty before being penalised again for a deliberate obstruction of Scrum Half, Rose Jay’s quick penalty.

After the visitors received a stern warning from the referee the game continued; Tonkin made sure the penalty kick reached touch and a successful Harrogate line out followed. The home side’s second score of the match was soon to follow as No. 8, Ellie Ward made a pick and go off the back of a strong Harrogate scrum then floated a pass to Jay who in turn made a quick ball to Clear. Clear crossed the whitewash at the far right to bring the score to 12-0.

Harrogate predicted the placement of their opposition’s kick, received it well and shipped the ball out wide. The home outfit showed their strength by winning back the ball in the scrum after a knock on and though Tonkin was initially denied a try on the line after a run up the right-hand side, Harrogate managed to keep possession and move the ball left. Tonkin scored her second of the match under the posts and the home side were ahead 17-0.

Bishop made attempts to fight back and began to gain some possession. However, Harrogate held up well defensively managing to win back the ball several times. With the interval, imminent Bishop managed to maul their way over the try line making it 17-5 as the whistle blew.

It didn’t take long after the start of the second half for Harrogate to up the score once again. Centre, Leah Birkin ran through and touched down. On the restart Clear booted the ball straight back into Bishop’s half, Evie Jackson’s impressive chase pressurised the opposition into a poor clear out which Harrogate readily took advantage of. After a quick pick up from Sarah Jayne Pritchard the ball was charged over the line by Ellie Ward bringing the score to 27-5.

With the final whistle looming Bishop pulled out all the stops which resulted in Harrogate defiantly defending their try line as well as conceding a few penalties. However, even with a player less than the opposition after a sending off, the home outfit managed to stay strong and then clear the ball.

Harrogate were back in Bishop Territory with minutes to go. After a forward break from Ward and Barnett, Birkin played Scrum Half and sought out Flanker, Lauren Clarkson. Clarkson stepped the first line of defence before charging through the rest to score just left of the posts. Clarkson’s first try for Harrogate brought the final score to 32-5.

Harrogate finished the season on a high with a score line which reversed that of the previous game against Bishop Auckland. As a result, the Ladies will finish second in the League table finishing just below local rivals York RI.

Additionally, the team travel down to Royal Wootton Bassett to play in the final of the Junior Plate competition on Saturday the 1st of April! Harrogate will play the Windsor Dames in one of 6 finals which are taking place on the day. It is a massive achievement to have made it to the final of this competition and thoroughly displays the progress the team have made throughout this season. With seven wins in a row under their belt the ladies go into the final in their best form to date and hope to extend it to eight while bringing home some more Silverware to add to the clubs’ collection.