4 tries apiece but Harrogate U16s were edged out by a 100% conversion success rate from Ripon’s 13 men plus two Harrogate “ringers”.

This was the first match of the season, played in glorious sunshine, with evidence of the hard-work in the pre-season having paid off!

Harrogate were first on the scoreboard on 7 mins, having secured a line-out close to the Ripon 22. A successful, first line-out lift secured then delivered the ball to the half backs and then on to Henry Jackson who powered through several Ripon backs only to be tackled well round the legs by Ripon’s last man. Ryan Key, cleverly in support, was on hand to take Henry’s exquisite pass “out of the back door” and run in for the try. Ryan added the conversion to give Harrogate a 7 - nil lead.

Ripon gained some momentum from their rucking at the breakdown and from a 5 metre scrum, Ripon’s fly half ran through a couple of weak tackles to score under the posts on 14 minutes. Ripon added the extras. 7 - 7.

The next line-out on Harrogate ball was less effective as Ripon were enjoying a decent bit of pressure after their first try. On 16 minutes, a crooked throw gifted Ripon a scrum, from which their second try resulted. The ball was shipped down the line which the full back joined between the fly half and inside centre and exploited the inside shoulder in Harrogate’s defence to touch down under the posts. Another kick extended the score to 7 - 14.

As the half time break approached, a quick reaction from Louis Mullen saw him secure a loose ball on the floor. Improved rucking from Harrogate saw the ball presented for Jack “Wilko” Wilkinson and he sent the ball along the Harrogate backs to Jack Whincup in space. He doesn’t need much and Jack gave it some gas to streak in under the posts. The ‘easy' conversion skittled under the posts. Harrogate 12 - Ripon 14.

That wasn’t an end though to the first half action - there was time for Ripon to take the restart. Ripon’s number 7 rose high in Harrogate’s 22 to gather the kick. The ball, safely secured from the ruck, was passed to Ripon’s fly half who had too-easy-a-run to Harrogate’s try line. Two points saw Ripon take a 21 - 12 lead into the second half.

Harrogate played the second 30 minutes with more purpose. Despite the improvement, Harrogate was not first on the scoreboard in the second half. 10 minutes into the half, Ripon’s fly half’s strong running broke a couple of attempted tackles from Harrogate. As he ran towards the corner flag, he was stopped near the try line but offloaded well to his support runner who was able to drop over for the try. A tough conversion was secured to push Ripon’s lead to 16 points: Harrogate 12 - Ripon 28.

Harrogate finished the match stronger. With 3 minutes to go, a tap penalty on Ripon’s 5 metre line saw Tom Davies make a strong push to Ripon’s try line but he was repelled by Ripon’s defence - the ball was recycled quickly by Harrogate to Louis Mullen who powered over the line for a 5 pointer. Ryan Key added the kick to peg it back to 19 - 28.

Ripon’s kick off on 29 minutes led to Harrogate’s winning a penalty as Harrogate’s catcher was tackled in the air. The penalty was tapped quickly and the half backs moved the ball into Henry Jackson’s hands. Henry broke Ripon’s line and headed towards Ripon’s 22 but was hauled down with 10 metres to go. Another skilful offload to Ryan Key before the tackle was completed left Harrogate with 10 metres to run. A late cover tackle looked like it might prevent Harrogate from ending the game with a score but Ryan pirouetted through the tackle and placed the ball down for the try. The conversion was unsuccessful.

A solid end to the game by the home side but Harrogate were on the wrong side of the result. Plenty of good stuff for the fans to enjoy and for the boys to take forward into the remainder of the season.