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06
Mar
Harrogate RUFC vs York: Aces’ optimistic as they prepare for fiery derby
There is a good feeling around the Harrogate Rugby Club camp at the moment, says director of rugby Jake Brady, as the Aces prepare to face local rivals York tomorrow (March 7).
Harrogate’s win against Ilkley last week saw them leapfrog their West Yorkshire rivals into the last of the play-off spots.
And with four games to go, the Rudding Lane side is feeling confident.
Brady told the Stray Ferret:
Ilkley was really enjoyable, and the first time I’ve personally played there. It was one of our better performances. We kept hold of the ball and kept it in the areas we wanted to. We did well on the set pieces, too.
We’re feeling good about York. They gave us a great game in the reverse fixture, and have gained some momentum since we last played them, so I’m sure they’ll be trying to scrap their way to a result. We’re confident, though.
Harrogate RUFC beat play-off rivals Ilkley 24-18 last Saturday.
Last week, Brady told us that Ilkley’s loose style of rugby meant the Aces had to set up to counter that.
But this week, it’s different.
The player-manager said because York don’t have a particular style, his side has focused solely on their own game in training.
York have won five of their last six games, though, so there’s little chance they’ll roll over for their noisy neighbours.
Brady told us how his side can win:
I want us to focus on what we do after the maul. We usually win a penalty after them, but it’s about what we do after that penalty. We’ve also been looking at using our forwards as battering rams to gain territory and then create stuff for the backs.
We set targets at the start of the season and it’s been more of the same this week really. We want to concede less than 10 penalties, have 90% success in the lineouts and 100% in the scrum. We need to cut out missed tackles too.
No nerves here
With four games left, things are heating up in the race for the play offs. Harrogate are six points behind second-placed Alnwick and three points ahead of fourth-placed Ilkley. With five points available every game, it is still all to play for.
But Brady insisted that there was no need for nervousness.
He said:
If you look at the last four games, we’ve got the more favourable run-in. All of our opponents are in the bottom half, while Heath, Alnwick and Ilkley all have to play each other.
We feel good about our game at the moment. The feeling I’m getting is that the boys are really enjoying their rugby at the moment, which makes it so much easier to get good performances out of them.
Brady added that his side would see it as a missed opportunity if they didn’t make the play-offs.
The Aces have beaten every team in the league apart from Heath this year, who have won every game.
And they will be looking to make it two out of two against their North Yorkshire rivals tomorrow.
Harrogate RUFC host York at 2pm.
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