Blackburn vs Harrogate

Two excellent sides gave the supporters an enthralling match where the result was in doubt right up to the final whistle.

An early Hugo Tasker break from good scrum ball led to Blackburn’s defence going offside and a Sam Fox penalty opening the scoring. More Harrogate attacks followed from Martin Dodds bursting through the home defence. Skilful backs handling from Mason Knowles and Sam Parry carried the move on and Sam Brady was in support for a good converted try which put Harrogate 0-10 up after 9 minutes.

However, any thoughts about this being a straightforward Harrogate win were soon dispelled. Brady was sin binned for a “no arms” tackle and Blackburn took advantage of the 10 minutes by mounting sustained pressure on Harrogate’s line. A Blackburn driving maul was held up over the line but still more pressure resulted from the ensuing 5 metres scrum. The ball was spread but Harrogate intercepted, broke clear and were awarded a scrum following a Blackburn fumble. The 7 man pack won quick ball, No8 Jonny Coser broke strongly and Fox cleared. Brady’s return further relieved the home pressure and inventive running from centres Knowles and Merc Mercer led to more Harrogate attacks.

However, it was Blackburn who scored next. Good line-out ball was quickly spread and full back, Myles Harrop made the extra man to score in the corner and make it 5-10. More Blackburn attacks followed and, when Tasker was sin binned for a high tackle, still more pressure followed. Again reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes, Harrogate had to defend desperately against Blackburn driving mauls from which Corey Logan eventually burst over to score and Frank Skofic’s conversion drew the scores level at 10-10

Full back, Doc Doherty then gathered a challenging Blackburn kick and made a half break before feeding Oli Rosillo who sidestepped his way through the midfield to relieve the pressure. More Harrogate attacks followed and it was another Doherty break which instigated the next try. From his pass, Dodds burst through the home defence and Parry took the scoring pass to make it 10-15 at the interval.

Early Harrogate 2nd half attacks were ended by a Blackburn turnover and a sustained period of home pressure followed. Harrogate’s defence held on by the skin of their teeth, helped by the introduction of their experienced replacements, Andy Boyde, Tim Heaton and Luke Edwards. A head injury to Tasker led to further enforced Harrogate adjustments and the Blackburn pressure continued with flanker Sam Gale featuring strongly. An overlap was created and Frank Skofic broke through for a converted try to put Blackburn 17-15 ahead with 20 minutes remaining.

Both sides gave it their all for the rest of the match. By this stage, Harrogate’s fitness was giving them the edge over Blackburn’s heavier pack. Props Dom Musetti and Steve Maycock featured strongly in set pieces and in open play with hooker, Tom Driscoll making telling breaks. Brady and 2nd row partner, Brandon Hannam made increasingly effective incursions into Blackburn’s defence and it was now Harrogate’s turn to set up a series of driving mauls. Coser broke strongly for the line but was penalised for holding and the Blackburn penalty won them what should have been a relieving line-out. However, their throw was squint and the Harrogate pressure continued. A 20 metres driving maul for the line was stopped illegally and it was home No8 Scott Richardson’s turn to visit the sin bin. More Harrogate forward drives led to a Hannam converted try for the game’s final score. Harrogate skilfully retained forward possession for the remaining few minutes, denying Blackburn any further opportunities.

Blackburn: Harrop, G Skofic, F Skofic, Russell, Fifield, Mahen, Nicholls, Lavelle, Trippier, Corless, Logan, Scrivens, Gale J Edwards, Richardson. Subs:- Evans, McHugh, Taylorson

Harrogate: Doherty, Rosillo, Knowles, Mercer, Parry, Fox, Matthews, Musetti, Driscoll, Maycock, Brady, Hannam, Dodds, Tasker, Coser. Subs:- Boyde, Heaton, L Edwards

Referee: Elliott Lewis (North)

Match report by Bill Barrack