Brave rally by Mansfield RUFC falls just short of surprise win

STAR MAN -- Gareth Gripton (right) receives his man-of-the-match award from the game's sponsor.

In a performance as unpredictable as their season, the blue-and-whites were staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat when they trailed 29-9 to the team lying third in the National League, Midlands 2 East (North) table. But they fought back with some fantastic rugby and were only beaten 32-28 in the end to make a mockery of their current lowly position in the bottom three.

Head coach wayne Robinson said: “We started slowly, conceding 12 early points, and a yellow card just after half-time also really hurt us. But I’m proud of the way the boys fronted up. They didn’t let their heads go down and battled hard to the end.

Those 12 points were conceded in the first ten minutes as Stamford put their mark on the game with two tries, one of which was converted.

A trio of penalties by John-Ross Ward, and some exceptional work in the scrum against a strong pack, brought Mansfield back into it, and spurred on by Josh Hall and man-of-the-match Gareth Gripton, the home side enjoyed the kind of dominance in the set-piece not seen for some time by the Eakring Road faithful.

Winger Joe Ducker also impressed, often covering three men, so it was a shame that Stamford were allowed to extend their lead so readily just before and just after the interval.

A penalty lineout led to them crossing the line unopposed to make it 19-9 before the second half began with a familiar sight of a Mansfield yellow card. On average, teams who lose a man to the sin-bin concede seven points. The visitors bettered this by scoring two unconverted tries.

However, save for one more penalty, that was the end of Stamford’s points for the game. Instead the rest of the action belonged to Mansfield, starting with the rarity of a push try as Hall picked up and dotted down just outside the posts before Ward converted.

Creating territory and momentum, the hosts scored a spectacular second try through Pete Alldread, with Ward again converting, and the evergreen Bruce Arnold added a late third, reacting quickly to pounce on a loose ball. This time, Ward’s difficult touchline conversion fell short, but little could take the gloss off Mansfield’s admirable rally. This Saturday, they travel to fifth-placed Ashbourne.