Old Northamptonians U15 Girls 32 - Mansfield RUFC U15 Girls 15 - Wheels come off the bus for Mansfield
Report by Pete Haskell
Mansfield RUFC U15 Girls travelled to Old Northamptonians for the first round of the RFU U15 Girls Cup.
With an good pre season and previous weeks display at the NLD Long Eaton festival Mansfield went into the game in confident mood.
The game, as expected was an even affair in the first half with both teams breaching each other's defence with good displays of rugby.
However in the second half following a few injuries and forced changes, Old Northamptonians took the advantage and turned up the pressure. Mansfield duly held on robustly, but in the last 10 minutes Mansfield cracked and let in three late tries.
A well deserved win by an excellent drilled Old Northamptonian's and their forward pack but Mansfield's journey back up the M1 will have been a long and painful one having contemplated numerous spurned chances and lack of execution at the break down.
However a positive for Mansfield was the display of numerous new U15 players that have progressed into the squad from last year's U13's, so despite the loss there were positives to pull out from the game.
However the season is long and full of twists and turns.... so the squad will go again in a few weeks time.
Many thanks for the supportive parents of the U15 squad for assisting the players in this game with their travel.