Mansfield 28 – 19 Birstall

Mansfield hosted Birstall this past weekend. With the visitors sitting at the bottom of the table without a win, this was a good opportunity for the home team to take control and secure a victory. However, that would be made difficult as Birstall’s performance belied their league position. This was a fierce, even contest that, at times, swung wildly in momentum. Mansfield were forced to defend for large periods and never truly looked comfortable. However, they did manage to pull away in the final 10 minutes and secure a well-earned victory.

Head coach Nathan Hill thought his team did well to regroup and claim the victory: ‘We got rocked with a few injuries which disrupted us a bit but I’m happy with the way we got the win in the end.’

Mansfield’s day started off pretty well, with pressure applied on the visitors seeing them turned over early. Jed Ducker happily gathered the ball and galloped the remaining 10 metres to open the scoring after just a handful of minutes. A tricky touchline conversion was missed but the home team were 5-0 in the lead.

This was followed soon after by another impressive display of speed. The blue-and-whites gathered the ball on the halfway line and swerved their way through the defence, evading defenders, to add a second try. Another tricky kick was missed but Mansfield were looking good at 10-0 in front.

However, this second try seemed to galvanise the visitors as they shored up their defence and made life difficult for the remainder of the half. While it wasn’t wet, it was cold and this seemed to impact handling for both teams as multiple dropped balls stifled possession and territory. A slew of injuries in the first half didn’t help the home team as they were forced to make early changes. This caused issues later when more injuries saw a rapidly diminishing number of options for replacements.

The home team had a good amount of ball, especially in the visitors’ half, but were unable to make the most of it. This wasn’t just due to handling errors, Birstall were poachers for most of the game, disrupting Mansfield whenever possible and slowing down much of the momentum that was being built. A few penalties saw some good phases pieced together but ultimately the home team were only able to add 3 more points to their first half tally, a penalty slotted by John-Ross Ward taking the total to 13.

The visitors spent the final 10 minutes of the half camped in the Mansfield 22, pounding against the defensive wall repeatedly. While that wall was solid and repelled repeated attacks and penalties, it was bound to be breached at some point and, with the final play of the half, Birstall crashed through to add the first score to the board. A successful kick saw the half time whistle blow and Mansfield take a 13-7 lead into the break.

The second half was much like the first, full of flair and frustration alike. Balls were dropped, penalties were conceded and passes, though fired with precision, especially from man of the match Lewis Cowlishaw, just couldn’t hit their mark. A yellow card for the home team didn’t help as it gave the visitors a platform and a man advantage. The driving maul had been a thorn in Mansfield’s side but they had largely been able to contain it. Not this time as Birstall were able to use the maul to power themselves into position, play the ball through a couple more phases and then break through the defence again. A missed conversion saw Mansfield retain the slenderest of leads, 13-12.

The home team were better at using the possession in the second half and were able to increase their lead with the next two scores. The first, a quite spectacular run from Oliver Avison off the back off a scrum. Breaking a couple of tackles, he initially looked for support but soon realised he didn’t need it as he evaded capture and managed to cap off a bullocking 60m run by scoring near the posts, making the kick easier. Taran Elms dutifully slotted it to extend the lead to 20-12. The second came from one of the aforementioned passes. A great pass it was but didn’t hit its intended recipient. Instead, Charles Mason managed to gather and use his pace down the wing to add to the tally. A missed kick saw Mansfield now with a healthy 25-12 lead.

However, that would not be the end of the game. Birstall managed to take advantage of Mansfield’s ill-discipline to fire a penalty kick to the corner. The resulting lineout saw them repeat their try from the first half, the driving maul setting up the initial platform before running through a couple of phases and adding their 3rd try. A successful conversion saw them reach their final tally of 19. Mansfield would stop the visitors getting a losing bonus point with a last minute penalty, Elms slotting it through the posts to bring the final score to 28-19 to the blue-and-whites.

This was a fierce contest with both teams frustrating each other. For the visitors, their lineout was a potent weapon as it lead to two tries and the ambition throughout the park was there, even if the final killer blow was often elusive. The home team were much the same, enjoying periods of possession but unable to unlock that final link. Their defence was solid for much of the afternoon, only being broken down by repeated drives from a powerful maul. There is much heart to be taken from this performance, especially considering injuries disrupted the game, especially in the first half.