Mansfield Play a Full Part in Thrilling Encounter

As Buxton now play out of the town football club ground the kick was scheduled for 3pm on a crisp, albeit slightly dull day. This turned out to be a tense encounter which could have gone either way as both teams missed chances. However, the final word was to be from Buxton and they claimed the win.
Despite a losing bonus point Coach Wayne Robinson new that his team deserved more, “We did so many things right today and I felt for the lads in the end. That said, we now know the key areas to tidy up and I’m sure positive results will come.”
Buxton drew first blood will a well taken try after 10 minutes edging them ahead by 7 points. It was clear from the start that their larger pack was going to enjoy the tight exchanges and so Mansfield sought to move the ball wide at every opportunity.
After 15 minutes a penalty to the home side saw their lead move to 10 points, despite the fact that Mansfield were taking full advantage of their territory and possession.
This was proved to be the case a few minutes later as the visitors exerted enough pressure to put Adam Rowbottom in position to deliver a sweetly struck dropped goal registering Mansfield’s first points.
With the score at 10-3 Zane Chiappetta anticipated Buxton offence to intercept the ball and race 60 metres to score under the posts bringing the scores level at 10-10 with Regan Hubbard’s conversion.
Just before half time the blue and whites ‘Man of the Match’ Kian Johnson burst through several tackles to claim Mansfield’s first score. The youngster had a fine afternoon bringing intensity and strength to ever attack making himself a thorn in the side of the opposition throughout the game. His try was converted by Regan Hubbard to make the score 10-15 at the break.
The intensity certainly ramped up a few notches in the second half at the home side were keen to preserve their third placed slot in the league. They signalled their intent with another early try as the visitors left the back door wide open for the scrum half to nip through under the posts from a ruck unchallenged. With the score at 17-15 finger nails were getting shorter by the minute.
For their part Mansfield did not relent and played their part fully in a wonderful game of rugby where both sides brought a physical edge, competitiveness and respect for each other. The home supporters feared the worst again as Regan Hubbard regained the lead for his team with a well taken penalty and the scoreboard read 17-18.
This was about to get worse as Ryan hill cleverly anticipated another attack out wide as he interception another, perhaps overly adventurous pass, to race from one 22 to the other dotting down under the posts to bring the score to 17-23 to Mansfield.
What happened next was bizarre. A slip at the last second of contact with the ball saw the conversion dart agonisingly just under the crossbar. Although the Referee had thought it went over and awarded the conversion which would have extended Mansfield’s lead, in an act of true sportsmanship, the Mansfield Touch Judge informed the Referee that the ball actually went under the bar and not over it.
Buxton has one more throw of the dice and their open side flanker who had been excellent all afternoon made his presence felt one last time. A breakthrough came and slipping off a tackle he powered his way over to put his team back in the lead at 24-23.
With only seconds to go Mansfield were awarded a penalty and as everyone held their collective breath, the ball sailed high into the sky towards its target but sadly for the visitors it bounced back off the upright and was collected by the defence. A swift kick into touch ensured that the scoreline remained the same ending what was a thrilling encounter and leaving everyone wanting more as Mansfield host Buxton at Eakring Road in late March.
This week, Mansfield host Kesteven at Eakring Road. Kick off will be at the normal winter time of 2.15pm and you can follow the action on Twitter @MansfieldRugby.