Martyn Wood confident Harrogate RUFC can 'thrive' in National Two North if they continue to improve

The Aces lost an extremely close contest at Sheffield Tigers on Saturday, that 16-10 reverse their sixth in seven matches so far this term and one which leaves them bottom of the table.

And, while director of rugby Wood said he knew he had a difficult job on his hands when he agreed to take the helm at Rudding Lane ahead of the 2022/23 season, he is confident that ‘Gate are good enough to “thrive” in the fourth tier.

“Our start to the season has been about what I expected, I always knew that it was going to be tough,” the former England international told the Harrogate Advertiser.

“A number of the older members of the squad decided to stop playing or move on, so we’ve had to bring a lot of new players in and we’re currently growing into a National Two team.

“With that change in personnel, of course it takes time to build a side. We probably have suffered from a lack of experience, but these are the cards we’ve been dealt.

“Are all of these lads top-end National Two players right now? I’m not sure, but I do believe they can develop into that.

“Ultimately, we believe that these players are good enough to not only survive at this level, but also to thrive.”

On what ‘Gate need to do to start climbing the table, Wood added: “Week-on-week, we need to make sure that our performances are improving.

"I am confident that we will pick up the victories that we need if we can do that. We had a baptism of fire at the start of the season, playing a number of the division’s strongest sides with a new team, but we have been getting better.

"Sheffield Tigers is always a tough place to go, and Saturday was one that could have gone either way. It was a game of small margins.

"We performed better than the week before and we came away with a point, so that’s progress. Now we have to keep pushing in the right direction and continue plugging away.”

This Saturday, Harrogate host derby rivals Otley at Rudding Lane (3pm).