Sheffield Colts - 10 v Mansfield Colts – 3
A depleted Mansfield Colts side travelled to Yorkshire Division 1 side Sheffield on Sunday for a hastily arranged fixture following the last minute postponement of the scheduled game with Paviors. With 8 of the regular starting fifteen unavailable through a combination of representative call ups, injury or family commitments, Mansfield showed their real strength in depth eventually going down 10-3. Mansfield started the game with a strong wind at their backs but never really made effective use of the conditions allowing Sheffield to dominate the first quarter. Only a determined defensive effort kept the home side out but the line was finally broken on 15 mins when the Sheffield forwards drove over from close range. The score seemed to kick start Mansfield into life who then held the upper hand for the remainder of the first half but once again a strong defence limited the scoring to a Jordan Bailey penalty to make the half time score 5-3 to Sheffield. The second period was an even contest with neither side really dominating with defences on top and an overly fussy referee not allowing the game to flow. The Mansfield cause wasn't helped when Fly Half Bailey limped off after 10 mins forcing a re-shuffle which forced Mike Lowery and John Kingswood off the back row and into the centres. Sheffield capitalised on the changes, a flowing backs move was stopped short of the line but quick ball was released to the forwards who did the rest to make the final 10-3. Afterwards the coaches reflected on a great all round performance from the squad with good performances on debut from Ben Renton and Dan Marrows posing some real selection dilemmas for next weeks trip to The Bay to play second placed Nottingham.
Kesteven U14 - 20 v Mansfield U14 – 12
Mansfield U14’s showed just how far they have come in 12 months narrowly losing to Kesteven 20-12 where last year they were trounced. Mansfield were actually quite unlucky not to come away with a win as certain injuries to key players meant they were somewhat under strength. Tries came from Morgan Taylor and Liam Rodgers who also converted one. Man of the match went to Jackson Clarke for his relentless tenacity.
Kesteven U17 - 0 v Mansfield U17 – 44
Mansfield travelled to Grantham to play Kesteven in a NLD league game and triumphed 44-0.The morning was bright and dry but, the strong wind made the playing conditions very difficult. Playing with the wind, Mansfield dominated possession and territory but, struggled to convert this into points. However, the first score came after 10 mins when from a scrum, the ball found Ross Elms who placed a lovely cross field kick towards the corner for Josh Metcalfe to collect and claim the points. Under constant pressure Kesteven repeatedly tried to clear their lines with the boot but, the ball was either held up in the wind or made little distance when reaching touch. John Ross Ward benefited from one such kick, collecting the ball and passing it wide before moving into space to receive it back on the inside; side stepping the defence to give the blue and whites a 10-0 lead.
The final score of the half came from a collective move between backs and forwards. The ball was secured at a line-out and driven forward tying up the home defence, creating space for Jonathan Fox to receive the ball at pace and score under the posts. Elms converted to give the visitors a 17- 0 advantage at the turn round. The second period was completely different; playing against the wind, Mansfield kept the ball in hand and attacked from all positions. The ball was either moved swiftly wide through the hands of the skillful backs or driven at the heart of the home defence by the powerful forwards. The first score came from a neat off-load in the tackle by Adam Shaw to Elms who neatly played it inside for Jordan Bettridge to burst through and place the ball between the sticks, Elms added the two points with a simple kick to take the score to 24-0. The hard working Kesteven defence started to concede penalties, as they were forced back and three of the next four tries came from the quick thinking Shaw who played the ball wide through the backs for firstly Jonathan Cordin, followed by Fox for his second and Callum Wood to add 15 further points. In between, the forwards claimed their own reward by retaining possession after a number of phases and when they got within site of the line, Bettridge peeled from the rear of the maul to score. Mansfield now top their league with 35 points and one game to go, having scored 59 tries for 353 points with only 36 conceded. Next week, they entertain Hinckley in what should be a close encounter.
