Mansfield let slender lead slip as Belgrave hit back to take the points

The visitors sit higher in the table than Mansfield but were, to use a boxing metaphor, on the ropes for large portions of the match, unable to find their feet and land a decisive one-two combination.

Mansfield also struggled to find the knockout blow and what resulted was a fairly even, if sometimes fiery, contest that, but for a couple of lost lineouts, could easily have gone the other way.

Head coach Nathan Hill said: “I think we could, possibly should, have won that game, we just didn’t have that final accuracy.”

The game started pretty well for the home team, an early try and conversion taking them into the lead and putting a marker down for the rest of the game.

Early phases of play and linking balls saw Taryn Elms take the opportunity. A successful conversion by Elms took the home team into a 7-0 lead.

However, ill-discipline allowed the visitors to get themselves back into the game and after a penalty saw a yellow card dished out to the home team, Belgrave took the opportunity with a quick tap to get themselves on the score sheet. A tricky conversion from out wide was missed to keep Mansfield with the slenderest of leads.

Another penalty from the boot of Elms saw Mansfield pull further into the lead.

However, while Mansfield were getting consistent penalties from the pressure and disruption they were causing the visitors, they were unable to really apply the screw where it counted and a lot of the game was being played in their own half.

Another penalty for the home team saw them have another opportunity to continue pressuring Belgrave’s defence.

A kick to the corner saw them secure their lineout but it soon popped up on the visitors' side.

A few linked passes later and Belgrave had shipped the ball out wide, evaded the defence and added another to their tally.

The conversion was closer this time but still missed, leaving the half-time whistle to blow as the scores were all square.

The second half, unfortunately, saw Mansfield concede an early try that was almost a carbon copy of the one just before half-time.

Lineout ball was secured and then promptly lost, allowing the visitors to again build territory and ultimately extend their lead. This time the conversion was successful and they led for the first time in the game.

Both teams were struggling to really take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Scrums were unpredictable with both teams dominating and then being dominated, lineouts were messy and rucks were being disrupted just as some momentum was being built.

Add to this a couple of stoppages for injuries and the game became quite stop-start, a difficult thing to try and contend with when teams are evenly matched.

At times, tempers were bubbling and threatening to boil over but, ultimately, no more cards were brandished.

Mansfield were not short of possession and were able to make some inroads but weren’t able to find that final cohesion to convert into points.

When they didn’t have the ball their defence was solid, with joint matchday sponsors Mayo Engineering and The Eakring Gang’s man of the match Charles Mason being a thorn in Belgrave’s side all afternoon.

A final penalty from the boot of Elms saw Mansfield chip away at the gap and bring the score to 17-13, but that would remain the final score, the Blue-and-Whites unable to add anything else. Belgrave will be happy with the win and Mansfield can take some pride in getting back in to bonus point range, but this was very much a game Mansfield could have won.

With the post-Christmas cobwebs blown away, Mansfield have a real opportunity to solidify their place in this league.

Meanwhile, Mansfield Ladies came unstuck 54-5 at home as injuries disrupted their rhythm.

Mansfield were sitting high and proud in second place coming into this game, just seven points behind leaders Stamford and with a game in hand.

But they struggled to overcome some early injuries that saw them lose key players and halted play for extended periods of time.

Head coach Dave Woodcock was understandably concerned about his players but proud of how they reacted on the field, saying: “It was a tough one today but I’m very happy and very proud of the way the players responded to the disruptions.

“They fought until the end, we just couldn’t deal with Kesteven’s width.”

Early on, the game was largely even with both teams being able to frustrate each other and really stop any forays into the 22 from being had.

An exchange of penalties gave chances to build momentum but didn’t bring any points with them. The set piece started well with the Blue-and-Whites able to secure their own ball and set about a solid platform to work with.

Unfortunately, after less than 20 minutes, Mansfield were forced to shuffle their squad, and had to spend most of the rest of the match continuing to reshuffle as injuries played havoc with their momentum.

First, Laina Corah left the field with what has now been confirmed as a fractured ankle.

Laina was huge in the opening exchanges, carving open the Kesteven defence and throwing some slick passes to keep the movement progessing.

Not long after, Natalie Garratt took a heavy blow to her back at the bottom of a ruck and also had to leave the field.

Natalie bought pace down the wing and was another attacking threat gone.

Later in the match, Louise Marsden left with a calf injury, another blow that saw an experienced head have to depart.

This was a hugely physical game and the aforementioned injuries don’t account for those across both teams who lay battered and bruised around the field at various points.

These injuries saw the home team lose some of their shape and cohesion in attack.

The lineout began to misfire, players were making good breaks but were lacking support and some handling errors stymied promising attacks.

However, despite the scoreline, the defence was excellent and really made Kesteven work for field position.

The visitors took advantage of space on the wings and were able to open up their scoring by spreading the ball wide and exploiting the space.

They did this well for the remainder of the first half and managed to score three tries, converting two of them to build a 19-0 lead at half-time.

Mansfield were able to secure possession in the second half but couldn’t really push the territory they wanted to.

While the whole team deserve mention for the way they pulled themselves together, joint players of the match Emily Bingley and Ffion Roberts made absolute nuisances of themselves whenever they could.

Bingley was a threat whenever she had the ball, either breaking through tackles or making sure it took more than one player to bring her down and Roberts prodded and probed and took a number of quick penalties that put Kesteven on the back foot.

Ultimately, Kesteven had the lion’s share of possession in the second half and were able to use this to consistently move the ball around.

They were excellent at turning the ball over in the rucks, making it difficult for Mansfield to use the small amount of attacking territory they had.

While the home defence was solid and was making tackle after crunching tackle, Kesteven’s relentless attacks meant that gaps were opening up.

Once that happened, the visitors’ speed allowed them to outpace any covering defence and register a procession of second half tries, five in all, all being converted.

Mansfield did have some territory and were able to win penalties in the rucks.

One such penalty on the 5m line saw Roberts take another quick penalty and launch herself at the try line to ensure her team didn’t leave scoreless.

A tricky conversion was missed but Mansfield had managed to get themselves on the scoreboard.

This was a tough game to watch, both in terms of the amount of injuries and the sheer physicality of it.

With no wind or rain to occupy the senses, the thud of bodies hitting cold, hard grass was not only audible but at times echoed around Eakring Road.

Kesteven were good value for their win and can rightly be proud of the way their team has improved since these two last met.

Mansfield will no doubt be disappointed with their score but can take pride in the way they responded to things and their overall stubbornness.