Home team emerge triumphant on emotional day at Eakring Road

A rugby club is nothing without its members, nothing more than bricks and mortar, an inanimate pile of raw material and hopes and dreams. Clubs are made by the people who support it and thrive on the loyalty those people bring. Arthur Arnold was a stalwart of Mansfield Rugby Club and a much loved member for many, many years. A visible supporter for as long as this reporter can remember, even illness could not halt the piercing sound of his car horn ringing over the ground, greeting each and every Mansfield score. Arthur’s legacy is cemented as two further generations of Arnold’s ply their trade at the club. It only seemed right, then, that the blue-and-whites secured a well-earned victory as the club toasted absent friends and said goodbye to one of its favourite sons.
Coach Wayne Robinson said, “Arthur will be much missed and it’s always a relief that if you dedicate a game to someone that you actually win. The lads did us proud today and this one was for Arthur”.
With the club flag flying at half-mast and an impeccably observed minute’s silence preceding kick off, the game perhaps didn’t start the way the blue-and-whites would have intended though. A penalty, followed by consistent territory and phases of possession saw the visitors stamp their intentions from the beginning, scoring the first try within 10 minutes. A missed conversion saw the score sit at 5-nil to the visitors.
Both teams were clearly intent on playing and it was clear from the first few engagements that this would be a tight, close affair between two evenly matched sides. Mansfield had the opportunity to close the gap with a penalty attempt at goal.
After an uncertain start, the blue-and-whites started to get some possession and link some phases together. The ball was sent down the back line and landed with Rob Marsden who gladly took the opportunity to bluster his way over and register Mansfield’s first score. A successful kick by Regan Hubbard saw the home team take the slenderest of leads, 7-5 with plenty to play for.
The game followed this pattern for much of the rest of the first half. Both teams were industrious and committed but just couldn’t finish their chances. The pack in particular were made to work hard, large swathes of the game being played within 5 metres of the ruck, while matchday sponsor Mayo Engineering’s joint Men of the Match Emmanuel Ogunode and Zane Chiappetta were a thorn in the opposition’s side all afternoon.
The next score belonged to the visitors, a successful conversion seeing them regain the lead at 12-7. This was followed by a period of pressure that Mansfield handled well, leading to the visitors committing and offence and seeing a player sent to the bin. However, Mansfield attempt at clearing the lines from the resulting penalty saw Rolls Royce charge down the kick and gladly drop on the ball, extending their lead further. Another successful conversion took them out to 19-7 and a little bit of daylight between the teams.
That seemed to galvanise the home team who quickly took the kick off, regathered the ball and launched an assault on the visitor’s line, resulting in Nathan Jones emerging from a pile of bodies having slammed the ball down over the line. Another successful kick by Hubbard brought Mansfield back within touching distance, 19-14 to the visitors, right at the whistle of half time.
The second half saw Rolls Royce unleash a relentless assault on the blue-and-white line that occupied most of the remaining time. Despite this, the blue-and-whites were able to withstand the waves of attack to register just two scores that saw them to victory.
The first was a try that was quite the spectacle. A rather formulaic scrum just inside the hones side’s half didn’t scream opportunity, but once the ball got in to the hands of Ogunode he made sure it did. A few seconds later with almost 50 metres covered and 5 defenders beaten, Ogunode was dotting the ball down and putting the home into the lead. This lead that was extended with another Hubbard conversion, now reading 21-19.
A Hubbard penalty not long after extended saw that lead extend to 24-19 and forcing the visitors to need more than just a 3 point penalty to scrape a draw.
The last 15 minutes were all Rolls Royce. Wave after wave of attack and three penalties in 12 minutes saw them set up camp in the home 22 area and batter relentlessly at the home defence. Mansfield’s defence needed to be rock solid and it was, right up until the final play of the ball when they managed to secure a penalty and gladly clear the ball in to touch.
A well fought and much deserved victory against an emotional backdrop. Farewell, Arthur, you will be missed. Next week, Mansfield travel to Tupton. You can follow the action on Twitter @MansfieldRugby.