Harrogate Pythons RUFC continue to be hampered by inability to field a settled side

The men from Station View went down 39-5 at high-flying Keighley on Saturday, falling to their ninth defeat in 11 matches since they secured promotion from Yorkshire Two at the end of 2022/23.

That result keeps them in the bottom two, where they remain three points from safety, but although their two most recent losses have been heavy ones, the Pythons have been very competitive in the vast majority of the other fixtures in which they have been beaten.

And with the margins so fine in so many of their games this term, Mackay feels that ‘Gate could be considerably better off had he and head coach Dan Bird been able to enjoy some consistency in terms of selection.

"Consistency is the key,” he said. “But, having used 46 players over the 11 matches then it’s no surprise that we haven’t had that.

"You cannot fault the players for their efforts, but playing alongside the same players week, in week out does help.”

Saturday saw the Pythons match their hosts, who are unbeaten at home on their artificial 4G pitch in four seasons, during what was an evenly-contested first half.

Trailing by just three points at the interval, injuries to a number of members of key personnel in the second half eventually took their toll, and promotion-chasing Keighley were able to pull clear.

On his team’s performance, Mackay added: “We belied our position in the league with a rousing first-half performance, going in just 8-5 down.

"Good defensive organisation and clever use of the ball put Keighley on the back foot for much of the opening 40, but unfortunately this was not to be repeated in the second half.

"There was a real drop-off in successful first-up tackles, coupled with some injuries to key players, which forced a reshuffle in the backs.

"Looking at the game as a whole, we performed well above our league position against a very good side for 50 minutes, but we need to play for the full 80.”

Following a very even opening half-an-hour, the deadlock was eventually broken by Keighley following a well-worked move, which created space out wide for their winger to touch down in the corner.

Trailing 5-0, the Pythons responded well, powerful runs from Ed Challis, George Booth and debutant Pete Millward gaining them good territory, though spilled passes and poor ball retention prevented them from capitalising.

But, the visitors kept up the pressure and quick ball after a Tom Stabler-Langan run found Hugh Tatlow powering down the touchline.

Ten metres from the try-line, he managed to offload in the tackle, finding the supporting Max Sharp, who applied a finishing touch for 5-5 on 38 minutes.

Keighley would however re-take the lead before the half-time whistle sounded, landing a penalty kick at goal to make it 8-5.

Two injuries early in the second period then led to the Pythons beginning to lose their defensive shape, and the hosts were able to take full advantage, running in four unanswered tries.

‘Gate did finish the game strongly, spending much of the last quarter-of-an-hour inside the home 22, but without managing to find a way to add to their tally.

This Saturday, the Pythons face a must-win fixture against Old Rishworthian, the side directly above them in the Yorkshire One standings.