Mansfield’s season continues to go from strength to strength, this past weekend culminating in them leapfrogging league leaders Syston IIs and sitting proudly at the top of the table, still unbeaten. Syston came in to this game not just on a similarly impressive unbeaten run this season but having been unbeaten in the league for more than a year. Mansfield have spent the last few matches really honing individual aspects of their game that had perhaps not been operating under their full potential in previous seasons. This all came to a head as their decision making, defence and all round consistency saw them weather a pretty big 20 minute period without conceding a point while slowly building a lead that the visitors couldn’t overcome. From so many ‘what if’ games over the past few years, this is where almost everything seemed to click smoothly into place.

Head coach Anthony Jones and his staff must take a lot of credit for the way his team have performed so far, the man himself was unsurprisingly jubilant: ‘I thought that was a really smooth performance, our best of the season, and to do it against this opposition was very rewarding.’

Mansfield had very little to play with in the opening quarter. It’s no piece of luck that Syston have done so well over the past year, they started out exactly as was expected and pretty much never stopped. Mansfield’s ability to soak up wave after wave of pressure has stood them in good stead so far this season but this display, to put it bluntly, was outstanding. For 20 minutes, the visitors barged and battered and banged at Mansfield’s defensive door and it did not yield. When a crack appeared and Syston made a break, it was swiftly sealed by a covering defender. Mansfield’s possession was severely limited yet, after 30 minutes, they were 14-0 in front. During brief glimpses where they weren’t acting as a sponge, the blue-and-whites took whatever they could from their rare forays into the opposition’s half. Three penalties saw Taran Elms kick from the tee, slotting all three to put his team 9-0 up before Sam Blackwell was the beneficiary of some good phase ball to break through a couple of tackles and run 30m to score. The conversion was missed but the home team had had 4 opportunities to score and claimed them all.

The rest of the half saw Mansfield begin to gain some momentum and move out of their own half. Syston’s persistence saw them finally break the line and open their scoring, a fantastic driving maul taking them into the red zone and a few more phases seeing them over the line. A successful conversion bought them into the game, 14-7. The final score before the half saw Mansfield utilise their set piece as well, a lineout drive and multiple try-line pick-ups saw Daniel Spencer use his considerable bulk to power over the line. The conversion was missed but at half time, the home team were 19-7 in front.

The second half was more of the same. Both teams threw everything they had at each other but it was the blue-and-whites that were more able to adapt to what was in front of them. They were relatively evenly matched and traded advantage throughout. Syston had received a yellow card in the first half, Mansfield received one in the second. Syston had a period of dominance in the scrum; Mansfield had a period of dominance in the scrum. Syston’s lineout misfired at times; Mansfield’s lineout misfired at times. Syston did score two tries in the second half, utilising both the strength of their pack and the swiftness of their backs, both converted, to bring them up to 21 points for the game.

But Mansfield’s ability to just keep the scoreboard ticking meant they were always staying just one score ahead. This was exemplified by replacement Sean Roberts, who made such an impression when he came on in the second half that he deservedly picked up the player of the match award from matchday sponsors The Ladies of Mansfield Rugby Club. Roberts claimed two tries, both converted by Elms, to push the blue-and-whites further in to the lead. The first came from a well-read interception from the halfway line as Syston were gearing up to launch an attack. This sudden switch of direction, and Roberts' speed, saw him evade any attempt at a tackle and crash over the line. Not long after, a chip over the visitors' defence saw Roberts' second clean show of heels as he expertly gathered the ball and once again evaded capture to complete his brace. Elms added a fourth penalty from the tee to bring the final score to 36-21.

This was an outstanding performance. Mansfield’s decision making, the option to take three points when on offer, has already seen them win games by small margins but their continual chipping away at the scoreboard also chipped away at Syston, who struggled to recover from dominating the first quarter yet somehow being behind on the scoreboard. The visitors’ relentlessness in attack and doggedness in defence was no surprise but the blue-and-whites were more than up to the task. There are so many plaudits to give here, from winning with a bonus point, to halting an impressive unbeaten run to claiming the seat at the top of the table, and they are all very well deserved.