Harrogate Pythons RUFC sink Weatley Hills RUFC to record eleventh consecutive win
Harrogate Pythons racked up their 11th consecutive Yorkshire Two victory when they beat Wheatley Hills 30-17 away from home.
But Saturday’s success was not enough for Dan Bird’s team to reclaim top-spot, as a win for leaders Wensleydale against Leeds Corinthians means that they remain one point clear at the summit.
The Pythons were quickly into their stride in South Yorkshire and edged ahead on five minutes.
From an early penalty, Jed Carr drilled a kick into the corner. Calum Brock secured the line-out ball for Matt Leach to control his drive perfectly and touch down, Carr adding the extras for 7-0.
Hills broke through to level matters after a quarter-of-an-hour, but ‘Gate re-took the lead as James Audsley-Beck floated a pass out to Hugh Tatlow, who outpaced the home defence, breaking the club’s all-time try-scoring record in the process.
The Pythons kept coming, Audsley-Beck releasing Sam Considine, who crossed to take the score-line to 17-7 on 27 minutes.
A Carr penalty extended the visitors’ advantage before Hills registered their second try of the afternoon to make it 20-14 at half-time.
The hosts picked up where they left off after the interval and landed a kick at goal following an offside, narrowing the gap to 20-17.
The Pythons countered and another Carr penalty nudged them into a 23-17 lead on the hour-mark.
With the game very much in the balance, Bird’s men then struck a decisive blow when Carr spotted a gap and threw a perfectly-weighted pass to Considine, who registered his side’s bonus-point try.
Carr then slotted the extra two, rounding things off at 30-17.
This Saturday, the Pythons host third-placed Baildon.