It was a sunny day at Rudding Lane for the season opener.
Harrogate led 10-0 at half time, which they extended early in the second half to 15-0. Ripon then fought back to 15-12, before heading into a sustained period of pressure towards the end.
Harrogate had a player yellow carded with one minute to go until the final whistle, but Ripon managed to keep the ball alive for another 6 minutes before it finally went dead and Harrogate could celebrate a bruising victory.