Harrogate Pythons RUFC beat league champions to secure 'landmark' promotion in dramatic fashion

Harrogate Pythons RUFC celebrate after they beat Wensleydale to seal promotion to Yorkshire One. Pictures: Gerard Binks

Harrogate Pythons RUFC’s promotion to Yorkshire One has been hailed as a “landmark” moment for the club.

The Starbeck-based outfit beat Yorkshire Two champions Wensleydale in dramatic fashion on the final day of the 2022/23 season to seal runners-up spot by the narrowest of margins.

A thrilling 30-29 success for Dan Bird’s team means that although they finish the campaign level on points with third-placed Baildon, they stay ahead of them in the league standings courtesy of having a better overall playing record.

The Pythons have lost four and drawn one of their 22 league matches this term, while their nearest rivals have suffered five defeats.

Pythons' Sam Considine touches down to register his side's third try of the game.

And while things got rather more uncomfortable than they needed to towards the back end of the campaign after his side got themselves into a position of real strength following a run of 15 consecutive victories, head coach Bird was just thrilled to see his players finish the job and secure their second promotion in the space of 12 months.

"This is a landmark day for the club,” he said. “Saturday demonstrated just how far this group of players, and club, have come in such a short period of time.

"This promotion is nothing short of what they deserve.

“The match itself delivered everything we expected it to. There were great tries, huge tackles with the odd flashpoint, but most importantly, this group of players really stood up when they needed to the most.

Jed Carr on the attack during Saturday's thrilling Yorkshire Two clash at the Jim Saynor Ground.

“From the coaching team, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody who have been part of the playing group. It takes a great squad of players to achieve the success of this season and without your contributions it wouldn’t have been possible.”

A bumper crowd in excess of 450 people were in attendance for Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash at the Jim Saynor Ground and were treated to an entertaining spectacle.

Wensleydale kicked a penalty after a quarter of an hour to break the deadlock, though a trio of successful shots at goal by Will Clough had the Pythons 9-3 up by the 35th minute.

The champions then scored a converted try to edge back in front just before the interval, however there was still time for Bird’s men to register their first touchdown of the match before the whistle sounded.

Sam Beagrie’s aggressive counter-rucking enabled Max Sharp to get back to his feet quickly following a tackle and release the speedy Sam Considine on halfway. From there, he outpaced the Dale defence and went under the posts for Clough to convert.

Leading 16-10 at the break, the home advantage was increased just five minutes after the resumption when James Audsley-Beck kicked ahead and won the race to the bouncing ball, applying a finishing touch with just a couple of inches of pitch to spare.

Clough again did the honours with the boot, adding the extra two to push the score-line on to 23-10.

Dale were next to cross the whitewash, but ‘Gate hit back when pressure from Sharp caused one of the visiting wingers to fumble the ball on halfway.

Bailey Bromberg calmly side-footed the ball along the ground, then showed patience under pressure from the Dale full-back to gather the ball 30 metres out before sprinting clear. Clough converted again to take the score to 30-15 after 65 minutes.

The champions weren’t done, however, and went over for another converted try for 30-22, before setting up the nerviest of finales with a late score which narrowed the gap to just a solitary point.

But, the Pythons managed to hold out in the end, sparking scenes of jubilation at the full-time whistle.