U9s V Mellish

Fresh off the back of a great squad effort at the NLD Qualifiers a couple of weeks back, Mansfield U9’s looked to continue their success against Mellish.   It was great to be able to field two teams for this fixture, and both teams were certainly firing on all cylinders.  The first match played saw Mansfield keep an impressive clean sheet.  Mellish were unable to penetrate the defence, and were constantly pushed backwards with some great tackling from the whole team.  On numerous occasions, Mellish had to pass the ball over as Mansfield completed 7 successive tackles.  In attack, Mansfield were also strong, running in 10 tries.  What was most pleasing about this display was not the comfortable win, but at times how comfortable the players were to move the ball down the line and off-loading before the tackle, rather than direct running through the defence.  A superb display.
 
The second team to play Mellish carried on where the first team left off.  They were encouraged to work the ball rather than to just run with it, and at times the rugby on display was brilliant.  Mellish did not seem to have any answer, despite every effort to penetrate the defensive line.  Again, on a number of occasions throughout the game, Mellish were thwarted in their attacks by 7 successive tackles, which forced them to hand the ball over.  Eventually, due to a mixture of Mellish’s commitment and Mansfield’s over confidence to try a little too much with the ball, the home team did manage to cross our line twice.  Final result was 8-2 to Mansfield.  Again, a brilliant display of rugby by Mansfield.
 
The game of the day, and in my opinion, the performance of the season so far, was when both Mansfield teams lined up against each other.  They were encouraged to play it as a competitive match, rather than a training game, and they certainly did that.  The new ‘scrum half’ roles we introduced in training the previous week, worked really well at times for both teams, and led to some great running and disciplined rugby.  Our downfall in previous games was virtually non-existent in terms of basic errors – wayward passes, knock-ons, and running into touch, which was massively encouraging.  It was a great spectacle to watch and the Mellish team looked on, visibly impressed.  Well done lads.
 
Thanks to the parents for their continued great support, not only at Mellish, but at all games thus far.  Your encouragement on and off the pitch is paying dividends, and I have no doubt, a significant reason as to why the kids are performing as well as they are this season