Mansfield 13–48 Nuneaton Old Edwardians
Report by Phil Foster

Mansfield RUFC’s season has been difficult to say the least. Starting off strong with some solid performances and good victories, the last couple of months have seen the blue-and-whites struggle to maintain consistency on the pitch. There have been moments of brilliance and signs that the team are well-gelled and work cohesively together but when the chips are down it becomes harder to lift yourself up.

This was evident this past weekend as Mansfield took on mid-table Nuneaton Old Edwardians. An impressive and controlled first quarter saw the home team edge in to a lead. However, a yellow card changed the makeup of the game and Nuneaton ultimately ran out winners.

The first quarter was largely competitive and saw Mansfield take the lead. Some consistent possession saw them making inroads upfield and making life difficult for their opposition. While the visitors did have a powerful scrum, the home team were able to weather that battle and retain possession. This burgeoning confidence resulted in them winning numerous penalties as Nuneaton initially struggled to contain their opponents. Two penalties from the boot of Taran Elms saw the blue-and-whites go 6-nil in front.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned yellow card to the home team saw the momentum swing rapidly. The visitors scored two tries in that period and Mansfield struggled to find their footing for the remainder of the game. While the home team weren’t able to stop two tries being scored, their defence was otherwise good, dealing with the scrum well and securing lineout ball. Those two tries would be the only scores of Nuneaton’s first half as the teams entered the half time break with a 14- 6 lead, not out of reach by any stretch.

However, the second half saw the blue-and-whites struggle to find their footing again, any forays into the opposition half ultimately coming to nought. They did create space in the wide channels but failed to utilise it, a recurring issue this season, and to compound things further they found themselves on the wrong side of the referee numerous times, again stunting what were promising pushes into the opposition defence. This allowed the visitors to exploit both the wide channels with some neat offloading and batter through the middle to keep the scoreboard ticking over and increase their lead.

A brief period of ascendancy saw the home team gain a couple of penalties and use that to build some momentum. A quick thinking tap-and-go from Lewis Cowlishaw on the 5 metre line saw him dart through a defence that was rapidly trying to reset and register a much needed try. This helped Cowlishaw pick up the player of the match award from joint matchday sponsors Mayo Engineering and Future Products. A successful conversion by Elms nudged them up another 2 points but these would be Mansfield’s only points of the half.

Instead, Nuneaton continued to add to their tally. Despite some stellar defence from the home team, the visitors were able to find that final pass that saw the tryline crossed 8 times in total. As if to exemplify the afternoon, the bounce of the rugby ball blessed Nuneaton and cursed Mansfield. One bounce of the ball fell sweetly to the visitors while twice the bounce of the ball evaded the desperate, reaching hands of a Mansfield counter attack. Such is rugby. Despite aiming to cross the half century mark, the visitors were ultimately stopped by a last ditch defensive effort. The final score read 48-13 to the visitors, a well taken victory that will no doubt give them confidence moving forward. Mansfield can be buoyed by their first quarter performance and can rue some of the bad luck they encountered with the fickle nature of an oval ball.