Roy Mackay hopeful that struggling Harrogate Pythons RUFC come back 'reenergised' after Christmas break

The Starbeck-based club were beaten 33-0 at home by Wensleydale on Saturday afternoon, that defeat their eighth in nine Yorkshire One matches following a superb start to the season which saw them win four on the spin.

And with injury and unavailability at the root cause of their recent struggles, Mackay could really do with his squad returning refreshed and reenergised in January.

"Hopefully, with the Christmas break, selection will be made easier with more players returning from injury and making themselves available," he said.

"The target for the New Year will be consistency in both availability and training. The coaching team looks forward to working with a reenergised group next year."

Saturday saw a Wensleydale team that was very much improved from the one which the Pythons beat 41-5 in their own back yard in September take to the field at the Jim Saynor Ground.

Nevertheless, Mackay's men started brightly, with Ben Pryor gaining some early territory. But, 'Dale were quick to respond with a well-aimed penalty kick into the corner, from which clean line-out ball saw their pack barge over the try-line for a 7-0 lead.

Undeterred, the hosts kept pushing and both Hugh Tatlow and Jed Carr were held up short just short of the line.

Having survived unscathed, 'Dale then went down the other end of the pitch and added a second converted try for a 14-0 half-time advantage.

That lead was increased to 19-0 after the interval when the visitors touched down again following a quickly-taken tap penalty, then a grubber kick in behind the home defence led to a third converted try.

The scoring was rounded off late on when another quickly-taken penalty saw 'Dale add try number five.

Reflecting on his side's performance, Mackay added: "I cannot fault the efforts made by the players on the pitch, but we could not convert the half-chances that we created, or guarantee our set-piece.

"Unfortunately injuries and unavailability made selection difficult. With different combinations once again, especially in the backs, it was no surprise that play was extremely disjointed against a very focused and much-improved Wensleydale."

Defeat means that the Pythons sign off for 2024 in eighth position in the Yorkshire One standings.