Hoppers scored five brilliant tries, with some excellent play from the backs but Harrogate did manage to get themselves two bonus points thank to a late Samuel Brady double.

It was a nervy opening, with a 25-minute wait for the scoring to be opened, both sides displaying strong defence to deny either team a chance.

Owain Williams broke the deadlock after an excellent offload from Jacob Browne took away two defenders, and a 40-metre sprint saw from the winger saw him sail over.

But just three minutes later, Harrogate responded with a try of their own, Jacob Percival powering his way over from close range.

Greg Smith slotted a penalty under the posts with ease to give the hosts back the lead, one they would not let slip.

Harrogate started putting the Hoppers defence under increasing pressure, but Tyler Spence managed to intercept a pass out of the air, and from the halfway line he found himself with the rest of the pitch free, sprinting all the way over.

The visitors closed the gap back down to three points on the stroke of half time, with an almost identical try to before, this time with Will Hill powering his way over.
With less than a minute back on the clock in the second half, Hoppers grabbed their third try, a storming run from Alfie Longstaff pushed them up the pitch, before playing Spence into space who grabbed his second of the afternoon.

Harrogate got themselves back within one score, with Rory Macnab this time slotting his penalty, but Hoppers managed to extend the lead back to two scores, when Ed Keohane shimmied his way through the defence.

And the lead grew to 21, when Longstaff produced another bulldozing run before playing in Smith who dived over.

The Yorkshire side did manage to grab two tries in the last five minutes, both from Brady who pick and drove his way over to take two points back home with them.

Preston Grasshoppers Head Coach Dan Orwin spoke of his delight at finally picking up a win.

“I’m really happy with our performance out there,” said Orwin.

“I think defensively that was our best performance of the season and we scored some lovely tries in attack as well, with some great plays.

“So, I’m very happy, nice to get a win that’s for sure.”