Gutsy Performance Earns Mansfield Much Needed League Win!
Mansfield 27 Northampton Old Scouts 7
This was a performance of grit and determination from Mansfield and a day when fortune favoured the brave. Mansfield applied pressure right from the kick off and showed that they were prepared to throw the ball around and take risks if it meant bringing home those valued league points. It was a day when they had to be adventurous and they didn’t disappoint.
A rearranged back row saw with the welcome return of Phil Beaumont to partner Danny Spencer and Ben Holmes, which made for a mobile and aggressive unit with all three tackling hard and disrupting the opposition at every opportunity. It was their forward drives supported ably by the tight five that kept the visitors Northampton Old Scouts pinned in their own 22 from the start and forced an early penalty. Although this was not successful the forward pressure continued and quick ball out to the backs saw the match sponsors, the Vice Presidents, ‘Man of the Match’ Natty Jones slice through the defence untouched to dab the ball down under the posts with Gareth Wagstaff adding the extras.
With confidence running high, the outstanding Luke Stringfellow towered above everyone from the restart claiming the ball beautifully and started what was to become a master class in this area as the game progressed. As Old Scouts began to fight back they simply couldn’t break free of the suffocating presence of Holmes, Beaumont and Spencer and if the back row made life difficult for the visitors with their defensive qualities then the Mansfield midfield, also welcoming back Steve Bacon, made life a real misery for them as Bacon and Wills applied the pressure and conjured an interception, which but for a knock on spotted by the referee, would have resulted in another early try.
This only served to further fuel ambition for the home side as they almost appeared to be trying too hard with some basic errors coming from an over eagerness to succeed. This caused the visitors to adopt a style of play that would see the ball slowed down at every opportunity and repeated infringements led to a Mansfield penalty. Knowing he had a free ball this inspired Wagstaff to attempt an audacious dropped goal, which sailed just wide, but he didn’t miss with the ensuing penalty kick giving Mansfield a 10 nil lead.
Old Scouts just couldn’t get the ball during this period with driving mauls, usually instigated by the youngster Danny Spencer who is developing into a fine player, keeping them occupied in defence. Killing the ball was trying the referee’s patience and the official duly ran out of patience after 17 minutes and brandished the first of his 5 yellows cards of the afternoon leaving the visitors to cope a man short with a Mansfield team high on confidence and feeling adventurous.
Scrum Half Shaw, doing what scrum halves do best, kept the forwards moving and snapped around the base showing invention and mixing his game well. Mansfield had an edge to them during this game, they were feisty and confrontational up front and lively and enthusiastic in the backs. This combination led to several areas of friction in the game and frustrated the opposition earning them a further penalty for Wagstaff just before half time.
Old Scouts were never going to just roll over and they were determined to make the most of their significant advantage in the scrums where they were dominant and made life very difficult for the Mansfield front row. Repeated drives and energy sapping srummages put Mansfield under pressure towards the end of the first half. However, by adopting the strategy of attacking defence, the home side kept the visitors at bay and they went in with nothing to show for their efforts in the first half.
An outstanding start in the first half was mirrored by a second half start that matched it in every way. Natty Jones produced a howitzer of a kick that put the visitors under early pressure deep in their own half. Nigel Lyndsay continued to dominate the line out and claim possession allowing a powerful drive headed up by Stringfellow, which resulted in the forwards bullocking over the line with Beaumont at the bottom to claim the 5 points. Wagstaff’s imperious kicking display continued giving Mansfield a 20 point advantage.
Having incurred the wrath of the match official it was Spencer’s turn to try on the touch line jacket with his own 10 minute spell in the bin. This however did not dampen the opportunistic nature of the Mansfield backs as a palm down from Symcox from a misdirected kick had Shaw chipping through with Wills taking over the footballing demonstration combined with great pace to win the race to the line. Wagstaff duly obliged with the extras and the home side with 27 points to the good had built what was to become an unassailable lead.
Maybe it was this that led to something of a hiatus for the home team as Old Scouts increased the pressure and Mansfield dropped their intensity. The visitors pressed home their obvious advantage in the scrum and started to produce some telling drives up front and spreading the ball wide in the backs. Frustration grew as Mansfield tried to get back into the game and having won a penalty for the opposition killing the ball in the ruck again, it was a liberal interpretation of rucking that saw the referee reverse the decision giving the penalty back to the visitors. The official insisted that both transgressors try slipping on the touch line jacket as they were banished to the bin.
Mansfield slowly crept back into the game as time drifted away from the Old Scouts and the feistiness continued as the referee demanded yet again that another player, this time the visitor’s centre, also try on, what was by now becoming a warm and cosy touch line jacket, as he also saw the yellow card with ten minutes to go. Beaumont and Lyndsay were given a well earned rest and were replaced by Newton and Hooper who slotted seamlessly into the action as Mansfield pressed home their advantage finishing comfortably. Veteran prop Richard Soar came on in the latter stages of the game adding some much needed stability to the front row and the referee called time having added 8 minutes extra play for stoppages with the final score at 27-7.
A pleasing result described by Head Coach Steve Shaw as “easily our best display of the season, we knew that this game was crucial for us and I was impressed with the way the lads gelled as a team”.
If Mansfield can take this form into their final league game of the year at Kettering on the 16th December then it will surely be a very Merry Christmas for one and all at Eakring Road.
Mansfield IV v Bingham I – Home
Mansfield 4ths nearly pulled off this one but finished up 13-20 the worse off. Mansfield scored first with some direct running rugby through the forwards and went up 5-0 within 10 minutes. Further pressure saw Mansfield winning a kickable penalty, slotted duly by Tim Allsop. With half time approaching Bingham came back into the game working a good move through their backs to score in the corner. Turning around at 8-7 up Mansfield set to work again, driving through the centre of the field quite ferociously and after 20 minutes of pressure came away with another 5 points. For the last 10 minutes of the game though, and creidt to them, Bingham found some spirit to score 13 unanswered points to take the win.
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