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Mansfield Colts - 3 v Bedford Blues Colts – 19
Mansfield Colts entertained the current English Colts Champions Bedford Blues at Eakring Road on a wintery Sunday afternoon, but it was to be their more illustrious opponents who would eventually win a close encounter 19-3 to progress to the forth round of this years competition. Playing into the strong wind in the first half it was the home side who made the better start, not allowing Bedford time to establish any rhythm to their play. Early Mansfield pressure was rewarded after 10 minutes when Jordan Bailey converted a penalty in front of the posts. Bedford slowly got themselves into the game making good use of the strong wind at their back to force play deep into Mansfield territory, two soft penalties conceded resulted in a 6-3 lead for the visitors after 20 mins. This pattern of play continued for the rest of the half and Mansfield were further punished when a clearing kick was held up in the wind, failed to find touch and was returned by Bedford for a score in the corner. The first half scoring was completed when Mansfield were harshly adjudged to have handled in a ruck after Bedford appeared to lose the ball on the ground, the resultant penalty made the half time score 14-3. With the wind behind them in the second period, the Mansfield response was impressive but they came up against a determined, well disciplined defence and were unable to convert periods of good pressure into points. The best opportunities fell to U17 debutant Jonno Cordin who had an outstanding game on the wing and Aiden McGregor who both made blind side breaks only to be forced into touch. McGregor and captain Mike Lowery were outstanding in the line out, constantly stealing ball and disrupting the opposition line. Scoring was completed by Bedford late in the game when their forwards drove over from close range to make the final score 19-3. This was a superb performance from the Mansfield squad against what is effectively an academy side who in the last three weeks have lost narrowly to Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints and have beaten Cambridge University U21's.
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