Mansfield 22 – 24 Kesteven

With minus temperatures and constant downpours, Eakring Road (the home of Mansfield RUFC) hasn’t seen much rugby in the last couple of weeks, reports Phil Foster.

That changed this past Saturday when an unusually warm winter day saw almost perfect conditions for playing rugby.

Mansfield welcomed Kesteven, sitting four places above them in the table, with the intention of halting a run of losses. Both teams were evenly matched and engaged in large periods of stalemate that saw frustration writ large. The game could have gone either way as possession, territory and the score swung back and forth.

As it turned out, a chance to claim a draw in the final minutes was not to be as a superb touchline conversion attempt agonisingly hit the upright and bounced back infield. Mansfield did claim two bonus points but will be disappointed not to come away with more.

Head coach Nathan Hill knows how close his team came, saying: “We played well for periods and showed real defensive cohesion, we’ll take the 2 points but we’ll be after more next week.”

The first half was a striking juxtaposition of both precision and inconsistency as both teams showed real defensive strength and attacking prowess on one hand and a general looseness on the other. To be fair, this looseness was often caused by the aforementioned defensive strength as each tackle became a nightmare to contest, both outfits causing absolute mayhem and forcing turnovers and penalties galore.

Nowhere was this more evident than matchday sponsor AIPS Insurance’s player of the match Regan Hubbard, who put in another powerhouse performance. Mansfield’s scrum did enjoy ascendency for the majority of the game but the visitors were mostly able to secure their own ball even if on the back foot. It was frustrating for both teams as valuable field position was lost and nobody was able to really stamp their authority on the game.

The first try came as a surprise to both teams. A defensive scrum for the blue-and-whites saw a bit of bad luck as a clearance kick was charged down and landed right in the breadbasket of a thankful Kesteven attacker who covered the 5m to the tryline to put his team on the board. A successful conversion saw the visitors take a 7-0 lead.

Mansfield hit back with the next score as multiple linked phases saw the ball reach the space on the wing and Harry Brough gladly took the opportunity to open his team’s account. A difficult conversion was missed but Mansfield were in the game, 7-5.

The aforementioned looseness was to Mansfield’s benefit for the next try as the visitors were awarded a penalty but missed touch. This gave the home team a counter attacking opportunity which they gladly took, expertly covering 90 metres of the pitch for Reece Flowers-Lane to add to his team’s tally. A successful conversion by Brough saw the home team take the lead, 12-7.

The final score before half-time belonged to the visitors as they were able to secure a good amount of possession, distribute the ball out wide and outpace the home defence to even up the scores. A successful conversion saw the half time score read 14-12 to Kesteven.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first with the game largely a stalemate. A spilled ball from the home team saw Kesteven stretch their lead, a successful conversion taking the score to 21-12.

This was compounded by the home team not only giving away a penalty a few minutes later but being marched back 10 metres by the referee. This gave the visitors a better chance at slotting a kick at goal, something they duly did to extend the score to 24-12.

This would prove to be a killer blow as it required the home team to score two more converted tries if they wanted to win. Mansfield were able to score the tries, Dillon Goddard and Jacob Hutchinson both taking advantage of good phase play and finding a way through a resilient Kesteven defence. However, both conversions were from tricky touchline positions and were missed, the second rebounding off the post and bouncing back into the field of play, denying Mansfield both the draw and a potential victory.

The final score was 24-22 to the visitors, well deserved after weathering a late Mansfield storm. While the home team will take two bonus points, one for scoring four tries and one for losing within seven points, they will be disappointed not to take more.

This was a game they could have won and relying on a last minute conversion to eke out a draw is not a position they will want to see themselves in in the future. Their defence was solid, the scrum was largely dominant and when they utilised the space available, they were able to exert real pressure and play some excellent rugby.