Burn were expecting a tough game and it proved to be the case, while Harrogate scored 4 tries to secure a bonus point, it was really their defence that won them this game. Burn tried their best to breach the Harrogate defence, however rarely did so as the Yorkshire side blunted Burn’s attacks.

Burn had competed well from the start despite facing a stiff breeze, however it was Harrogate who opened the scoring on 7 minutes and it was a result of Burn mistakes, they kicked out on the full, which gave Harrogate a line out just outside the Burn 22. The Yorkshiremen won the line out and crashed it up the middle, before spreading it further to the left, a poor tackle in midfield was handed off by a Harrogate back which allowed him to run round to score under the posts. The conversion was kicked and Harrogate had a 7 nil lead. Burn came back at their opponents, however, despite decent possession they couldn’t threaten the try line. On 16 minutes the home side broke through and had the final pass not have gone to ground they would have had another try. When Burn did have the ball their handling wasn’t as it usually is as they spilt too much ball. Burn then suffered a double blow as Leon Fifield was shown a yellow card for a high tackle deep in the Burn 22, the referee then decided that it should be a penalty try, giving Harrogate 7 more points. On 26 minutes the player numbers were even as a Harrogate forward was sent to the bin for a high tackle also. Burn responded strongly and came the closest they had to scoring, but were held up over the line. Burn kept the pressure on and got a deserved try on 34 minutes, they had worked play up through the forwards, then a long pass from Leon Fifield found Sammy Russell, he went past one man before straighten through a gap and then angled out to score in the corner. The conversion was missed. There were no more points before the end of the half, meaning Harrogate led 14-5 at the break.

Burn now had the breeze behind them and Leon Fifield took advantage of it, as he kicked a penalty 2 minutes into the second period from just inside the Harrogate half. Within a few minutes Fifield had another chance from 40 metres out, however this time the ball hit the post. After this Harrogate started to have the better of the possession, but didn’t really threatened points. When Burn did have the ball they made too many mistakes, whether that was knock-on’s, line outs not straight or not securing the ball at the breakdown and also not playing in the right areas, as they didn’t take full advantage of the wind to put the ball in behind Harrogate. The home sides possession finally paid off as they delivered a hammer blow as they scored out wide after a couple of good offloads to help break the Burn defence. Burn hadn’t given up hope of a bonus point and their cause was helped as another high tackle resulted in a yellow card for a Harrogate player on 78 minutes. From the penalty they kicked to the corner, they caught and drove, however Harrogate managed to resist the drive and pull Burn to the ground resulting in a Harrogate scrum 5 metres from their own line. Now it was Harrogate who had their eyes on a bonus point as they ran the ball from the scrum, they first made it up to the 22 and then kept the ball alive as they gradually worked up the pitch, Burn’s defence looked like they had tired legs from the heavy pitch and this helped Harrogate to brush off tackles to score and secure the bonus point, the kick followed, this made the final score 26-8.

While Harrogate deserved their win, the margin of victory flattered them a little. Burn will be frustrated, as at least a bonus point could have been possible for them, chances were limited due to Harrogate’s solid defence, however when Burn had chances they didn’t execute as they have in recent weeks. Burn will hope to have more success next week as they welcome Carlisle to Ramsgreave Drive.