Harrogate edged out Alnwick after a sustained 2nd half attack from a strong Northumbrian side. The home side looked in control for much of the match, but a late surge from Alnwick nearly turned the tide.

After some fierce exchanges, for the first 30 minutes of the game, which saw a lot of rugby being played, Harrogate opened the scoring with skipper Sam Brady bundling the ball over the line. The try was converted confidently by Macnab (15) to make it 7–0. Alnwick responded quickly with a penalty Burn (10) under the sticks from, narrowing the gap to 7–3.

However, Harrogate soon regained control. Inside centre Kodie Brook broke away in the 37th minute, and Macnab added the extras to extend the lead to 14–3. Soon after halftime, Amrit Sharma grabbed a fingertip interception and ran the length of the pitch to add another try, again converted by Macnab, giving Harrogate a commanding 21–3 with 30 minutes left to play.

Alnwick steeled themselves, crossing the line in the 51st minute, and the conversion brought the score to 21–10. With a Yellow card against the new replacement, Will Pritchard gave Alnwick another kick directly in front of the posts. They successfully added the penalty in the 61st minute to make it 21–13, keeping Alnwick within touching distance.

The visitors’ pressure paid off in the 72nd minute when the Alnwick forwards crashed over for a crucial try. The kicker held his nerve to slot the conversion, bringing the score to 21–20 and setting up a tense finale.

Despite Alnwick’s late momentum, a 13-man Harrogate held firm in the dying minutes to secure a narrow victory.

DOR, Jake Brady, reflected on the game: “It was a game where we had it much our way in the first half and Alnwick dominated the second. Our defensive showing was the best we have produced so far. This was very much needed to repel Alnwick’s ongoing attacks late in the game. We held firm and managed to get a late turnover to close out the game.