Mansfield 13 – 17 Belgrave

The first game back after the Christmas break is always a tester for the players, especially seeing as there were no games at all over the 2 week break for players to try and keep themselves match-sharp. Eakring Road hosted Belgrave this past Saturday as the second half of the season kicked off. The visitors sit higher in the table than Mansfield but were, to use a boxing metaphor, on the ropes for large portions of the match, unable to find their feet and land a decisive 1-2 combination. Mansfield also struggled to find the knockout blow and what resulted was a fairly even, if sometimes fiery, contest that, but for a couple of lost lineouts, could easily have gone the other way. As it stands, Belgrave took victory and the home team had to accept a losing bonus point.

Head coach Nathan Hill thought his team should have taken more away from the game: ‘I think we could, possibly should, have won that game, we just didn’t have that final accuracy.’

The game started pretty well for the home team, an early try and conversion taking them into the lead and putting a marker down for the rest of the game. Early phases of play and linking balls saw Taryn Elms take the opportunity. A successful conversion by Elms took the home team into a 7-0 lead. However, a bit of ill-discipline allowed the visitors to get themselves back into the game and after a penalty saw a yellow card dished out to the home team, Belgrave took the opportunity with a quick tap to get themselves on the score sheet. A tricky conversion from out wide was missed to keep Mansfield with the slenderest of leads, 7-5. Another penalty from the boot of Elms saw Mansfield pull further into the lead at 10-7. However, while Mansfield were getting consistent penalties from the pressure and disruption they were causing the visitors, they were unable to really apply the screw where it counted and a lot of the game was being played in their own half.

Another penalty for the home team saw them have another opportunity to continue pressuring Belgrave’s defence. A kick to the corner saw them secure their lineout but it soon popped up on the visitor’s side. A few linked passes later and Belgrave had shipped the ball out wide, evaded the defence and added another to their tally. The conversion was closer this time but still missed, leaving the halftime whistle to blow as the scores were all square, 10 apiece.

The second half, unfortunately, saw Mansfield concede an early try that was almost a carbon copy of the one just before half time. Lineout ball was secured and then promptly lost, allowing the visitors to again build territory and ultimately extend their lead. This time the conversion was successful and they lead for the first time in the game, 17-10.

Both teams were struggling to really take the game by the scruff of the neck. Scrums were unpredictable with both teams dominating and then being dominated, lineouts were messy and rucks were being disrupted just as some momentum was being built. Add to this a couple of stoppages for injuries and the game became quite stop-start, a difficult thing to try and contend with when teams are evenly matched. At times, tempers were bubbling and threatening to boil over but, ultimately, no more cards were brandished. Mansfield were not short of possession and were able to make some inroads but weren’t able to find that final cohesion to convert into points. When they didn’t have the ball their defence was solid, with joint matchday sponsors Mayo Engineering and The Eakring Gang’s man of the match Charles Mason being a thorn in Belgrave’s side all afternoon.

A final penalty from the boot of Elms saw Mansfield chip away at the gap and bring the score to 17-13 but that would remain the final score, the blue-and-whites unable to add anything else. Belgrave will be happy with the win and Mansfield can take some pride in getting back in to bonus point range but this was very much a game Mansfield could have won. With the post-Christmas cobwebs blown away, Mansfield have a real opportunity to solidify their place in this league.