West Bridgford Colts - 8 v Mansfield Colts - 61
Mansfield Colts prepared for next weeks National Cup game at Northampton in fine styles with an emphatic 61-8 win at West Bridgeford. With competition for places in the starting fifteen, this was a great opportunity for some to stake their claim for a place in the side travelling to Northampton on Saturday and all involved in this game grabbed the opportunity giving the coaches some real selection dilemmas for next week. Try scorers for Mansfield were Man of the Match Michael Lowery with a hat trick, Tommy Blythe with 2 plus one a piece for John Kingswood, Eddie Simmons, Jordan Bailey and Under 17 debutant Ross Elms. Bailey added six conversions and Elms 2 to complete the scoring. This was an impressive squad performance from Mansfield Colts, special mention should go to Under 17's Ross Elms and Ryan Croll who both impressed on their Colts debuts and also established Colt Declan Dykes playing out of position at Full Back.
Mansfield U17 - 55 v Sleaford U17 - 0
Mansfield U17’s welcomed Sleaford U17’s to Eakring road on Sunday morning and enjoyed an excellent game of rugby in glorious conditions winning 55-0. The early exchanges were evenly contested but, on five minutes the Mansfield forwards secured the ball at a ruck before quickly releasing it down the line for Jonathan Fox to run the ball in under the posts. John Ross Ward made no mistake with the simple conversion to give the home side a 7-0 lead. The blue and whites upped the pace of their game and started to dominate both territory and possession and in doing so put the visitors under tremendous pressure. Sleaford tried to clear their lines but, the clearance kick was collected by Daniel Dugdale. He fired out a long pass to create space out wide for Jordan Bettridge to score in the corner. The third try quickly followed, when from a quick penalty the ball was passed down the line with quick hands for Fox to cross the line for his second. Bettridge followed suit when he received the ball after hard work by Danny Boyles to turn over a Sleaford line out. His hat trick came towards the end of the half when he dived over in the corner. Ward converted to give Mansfield a 29-0 half time lead. The second half started as the first had finished with the blue and whites exerting pressure. However, in this period it was the forwards who were rewarded for their hard work. Andrew Patrick Simms chased down a loose ball to score near the posts and shortly afterwards Ellis Keegan received the ball from a quick penalty to add a further try. Ward converted both to extend the lead to 43-0. In the middle of the half Sleaford enjoyed a period of pressure close to the Mansfield try line with a number of penalties and line outs but, could not break the home side’s strong defence. Mansfield upped the pressure again and from a long tactical kick by Ward the ball was chased down and secured before finding Dugdale who drove over to score near the posts. Ward added two more points with the conversion to take the score to 50-0. Keegan grabbed his second towards the end of the half after the forwards had secured the ball at a line out deep in the Sleaford twenty two. This gave Mansfield a well deserved 55-0 victory. The U17’s return to league action, next week, with an away at Derby. Players should meet at the club at 9.00am
Mansfield U15 - 5 v Nottingham U15 - 12
Mansfield entertained Nottingham in what was a full blooded encounter, with both sides contributing to an entertaining match with Nottingham taking the close win 5-12. From the kick off Mansfield showed their intentions, with the forwards reclaiming the restart, and driving at the heart of the Nottingham defence. This forward dominance led to the opening score of the day, when Bradley Eames was first to react to a chip through the defence and pounce to open the scoring. For the next period of the game both defences cancelled each other out, before an off side gave Mansfield a penalty opportunity which drifted wide. The restart went long and a kick ahead went the way of the Nottingham player who dived to equal the scores, with the conversion giving Nottingham a half time advantage. The second half was just as ferocious as the first, with Mansfield just failing with the last pass on several occasions with the line beckoning. Another off side offence gave Nottingham the opportunity to attack the Mansfield line, and despite some good tackling, their centre managed to off load and a supporting player crashed over to win the game. A performance by the home side, which perhaps, did not merit the final result.
