SENIOR RESULTS
Fourteen man
Mansfield test leaders to the end.
Midlands 2 East
MANSFIELD 14
LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS 55
A scoreline
that reads well for the Students but one that needs putting in context.
Loughborough moved four points clear at the top of the table but Mansfield
recorded the second highest points conceded in a game this season by the
Students, scoring two tries in the process, another record. The performance was
all the more creditable given that Mansfield played 72 minutes with fourteen
men.
The faint
hopes of an upset that Mansfield harboured were snuffed out in the first eight
minutes. After Stringfellow had dealt with the kick off and first Jones then
Shaw had put in useful kicks a fractious scrum saw a free kick awarded to the
Blue and Whites. Unfortunately a flash of indiscipline and blatant push in front
of the referee saw the decision switched to a Loughborough penalty and three
points in as many minutes.
Testing
full back Symcox under the high ball Loughborough found him steady as a rock and
more than willing to use the ball as a springboard into attack. A foray up field
saw Holmes in support, Spencer carrying the ball forward and Rushby using his
guile to cross the gain line. When the ball came back for recycling a moment’s
hesitation was seized on by the quick Student backs and an interception was
turned into seven points.
With both
sides committing themselves robustly to the tackles and breakdowns tempers were
fraying and once again indiscipline paid a heavy price. Certainly not the only
punch thrown, but the most obvious, came from Spencer and the referee was left
with no option other than a red card to make the mountain Mansfield had to climb
even steeper.
As the
Students sought to exploit the extra man Arnold and Symcox showed resolve in the
tackles and Wills reversed play wrestling the ball clear and attempting to reach
the opposition half. Having conceded a second try another seemed on the cards
but Shaw stole possession and found Arnold on the Mansfield 22. The winger
stretched away brushing aside tacklers and was only halted by a suspiciously
high tackle well into the visitors 22. The line out brought a drive from
Harrison, Roberts, back on home turf, Lindsay and Stringfellow but Wills attempt
from that platform was held short of the line.
Always
quick to counter Loughborough crafted two ties in four minutes and with a 29
point lead on the half hour looked to run rampant. Harrison and Holmes, with the
combination of defensive solidity and aggressive attack that won him the
Whitegates Man of the Match Award, shifted play back over the half way and Jones
struck a penalty to within eight metres. The line ball was developed by Grant
and Holmes before Harrison and Roberts again took play to the try line. One more
thrust and the ball was spun to Jones whose strength carried him over.
With Symcox
adding the conversion and Stringfellow dealing with the restart half time was
reached with a 29-7 deficit that could have been even heavier. Mansfield waited
patiently for the Students to return from their sojourn to the Eakring Road
dressing rooms before replacement Taylor, Roberts and Pritchard tried to breach
the defence. Another angled run from Rushby who linked with Jones showed
Mansfield invention but the moves were punctuated with two more tries. The
obvious advantage of the extra man was minimised by the efforts of Storey and
Arnold mixing wing play with back row duties and ever eager to add their
presence at the breakdown.
Shaw and
Holmes made better use of scrappy ball behind a retreating scrum to bring Grubb
into the game and Coleman marked his entry with a big tackle turning over
possession for Grant and Harrison. Tries number seven and eight racked up the
century but showing great spirit the fourteen man unit kept battling. Taylor and
Holmes took play into the Student’s 22 and driving off the line out Mansfield
crossed the line with Harrison securing the touch down. Symcox converted try
number two, the most the Students have had scored against them this campaign,
and ended the scoring for the day.
A much more
heartening display than the score line would suggest Mansfield will need to
eliminate the indiscipline and take the positives out of this performance into
the remaining fixtures of the season. That will be particularly needed in three
games against fellow strugglers in the next month but Coach Steve Shaw was
calling for that intensity next Saturday when the side travel to meet Old
Northamptonians. He was hoping for the return to fitness of four key men ahead
of the trip and a repeat of the last visit to Northamptonshire when similarly
high placed Kettering were rocked by Mansfield.
Mansfield II v No Game
Mansfield III v Ilkeston III - Away
Mansfield 3rds travelled
to Ilkeston and in a total contrast to the previous week's performance found
themselves in no mans land for the first 40 mins due to unbelievable handling
errors and positional faults gifting the home side 3 easy early tries and the
win at 40-22. From here on in they played 'catch up' rugby. Up against a huge
pack, Mansfield could only work off pressure ball and when they did finally
settle the last 20 minutes belonged to Mansfield, although they were left with
too much to do and too little time to do it. The youngsters need to learn that
it's an 80 minute game where minute 1 is as important as minute 80 rather than
having a settling in period to see what the opposition have up their sleeve.
This said, Mansfield matched Ilkeston and at times showed them the way with well
worked scores from Andy Brown (3 tries) and a fine try from Man of the Match
Shaun Morgan. Adam Broadhurst added one conversion.
Mansfield IV v Tupton II - Away
Mansfield 4ths took the
Tupton bull by the horns and thoroughly wrestled it to the ground beating them
convincingly 10-37. Playing the plucky 2nd team away from home
Mansfield dominated in all areas of the park with tries from R. Radford (x2),
Hardwick (x2), Allsop (x1) Cartwright (x1) and Payne (x1) plus a conversion. At
22-0 at half time Mansfield seemed to relax giving Tupton a chance to redeem 2
excellent concellation tries which spurred Mansfield to yet again show their
strength and go on to score 3 more tries to finish the game off.
JUNIOR RESULTS
Mansfield U14 v Ashfield U14 – Away
Mansfield faced an ever
improving side from Ashfield this Sunday, and came away with a well deserved
45-0 win. The opening exchanges showed how far Ashfield have come on since the
sides last met and for the first 10 minutes the home side dominated. Once
Mansfield calmed down and started to up the tempo, strong running from captain
for the day Ben Palmer stretched the home defence and the forwards began to gain
the upper hand in both scrums and in the loose. A flowing move was finished off
by Craig Cooley to open the scoring with Sam Wills Butler adding the first of
his two conversions. Good ruck ball was passed along the back line for Bradley
Eames to crash through and his pace and power enabled him to brush off tacklers
for the first of his two tries. The second half began with the home forwards
beginning to tire leading to further tries for Morgan Eames, Adam Newton, Nick
Burton and Craig Cooley, Newton landing three conversions in very blustery
conditions. This was overall a satisfying performance, with man of the match
this week going to Rob D’Arcy.
Mansfield U16 v Dinnington U16 – Away
Mansfield U16’s lst XV
claimed two back to back victories in difficult conditions, beating Dinnington
away from home 38-0 and Kesteven, at home this week, 53-3. In between the
development squad secured a hard fought 17-5 victory away at Belgrave. Mansfield
travelled to South Yorkshire to play Dinnington on a bright but blustery Sunday
morning and brought back a deserved victory. With the sun in their eyes and
playing against a strong cross wind, that took all the high kicks into the
adjacent farmer’s field, Mansfield dominated from the start. On 10 mins the ball
was quickly moved along the back line for Jordan Bettridge to score, Ross Elms
converted to give them a 7-0 lead. This was extended to 14-0 when Elms converted
an excellent try from the forwards, with Ellis Keegan getting the final touch. Dinnington
enjoyed a period of possession but, Mansfield’s defence held firm and they were
able to extended their lead still further with another excellent move allowing
Adam Shaw to dive over to give the visitors a 19-0 lead. Jonathan Cordin
collected a clearance kick, made a 20m break, and off loaded to Callum Wood to
break through the defence to score. Further good work by the forwards pressured
the home defence driving them back, allowing John Revell to get the vital
touch. Elms converted to give Mansfield a 31-0 halftime lead. The second period
suffered from many infringements that prevented the game from flowing but,
undeterred, Mansfield’s defence remained strong and they continued to press
scoring one more try through Shaw, with Elms adding the conversion to give
Mansfield a deserved 38-0 victory.
Mansfield U16 v Kesteven U16 – Home
This Sunday visitors
Kesteven selected to play with the slope and wind, and were able to put
Mansfield under pressure for the first 10 minutes, but strong tackling, stout
defence and good clearance kicks kept the visitors at bay. Mansfield slowly
played themselves into the game and from the 15th min they started to dominate
possession and territory going into the lead on the 24th min with a well worked
blind side move. Gareth Gripton playing at No.8 moved the ball out to Adam Shaw
who off loaded to Jonathan Cordin to dive into the corner and give the home side
a 5-0 lead.
A lapse in concentration
gave Kesteven a penalty in front of the posts and they made no mistake in
reducing the deficit. However, Mansfield upped their game and went into half
time with a 10-3 lead when Shaw took a quick penalty to release Callum Wood who
crashed through the defence to score.
The second period was all
Mansfield, with the home team playing some of their best rugby of the season
scoring seven unanswered tries to give them a 53-3 victory. The first saw the
ball pass swiftly through the hands to Jordan Bettridge who placed the ball in
the corner. The second came from good work by the forwards who wrestled the ball
from the Kesteven pack in a maul, and drove them 15m before Danny Boyles rolled
from the back to score and give them a 20-3 lead. A 30m break and score by scrum
half Shaw gave Ross Elms a simple kick in front of the posts and he made sure
again after an excellent break by Joseph Symcox who released Boris to offload in
the tackle allowing Ellis Keegan to dive over under the posts. Keegan added a
further five points when he moved from the back of the scrum to score, with the
forwards now putting the visitors on the back foot. At 39-3 the visitor’s heads
started to drop and excellent quick rugby from the whole team allowed Bettridge
to score his second and third with Elms kicking the conversions to give
Mansfield the deserved victory against fellow NLD semi-finalists.
Mansfield U16 Development v Belgrave U16 Development – Away
The development squad
travelled to Leicestershire to play Belgrave and found themselves in a tough
fixture going in at the break 5-0 down. However, the team rallied in the second
period playing much better rugby and securing a 17-5 victory with a brace of
tries for Josh Cairns and one from George Zacharia on his first full game
debut. Ryan Croll kicked the conversion.
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COURTESY OF RUGBY ROUND-UP
