Mansfield roar back to action with 11 try haul against East Retford

There’s always a risk over the Christmas break that the lure of mince pies and turkey sandwiches is too strong; luckily this was not the case for Mansfield in the first home game since before Christmas.

East Retford, to their credit, were no walkovers and scored a beautiful try of their own but, as the phrase goes, ‘when it rains, it pours’ and the visitors struggled to link together sustained passages of play.

It wasn’t through lack of effort but things just failed to stick.

Ultimately the home team ran out worthy winners in what will be a confidence boosting first result post-Christmas

Head coach Wayne Robinson said: “It was pleasing to see the performance I did.

“We still have some corrections on decision making but we’ve been building a good platform for the last few games that is now beginning to develop.”

The game wasn’t without its flaws - damp, soggy weather will do that), and the opening exchanges were scrappy from both teams.

However, the home team were able to secure some ball and get it out wide where, surprisingly, hooker Zak Walters gladly took the opportunity to open the scoring.

This wouldn’t be Walters’ only try as he put in a commanding performance. John-Ross Ward added the extras for a 7-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half saw Mansfield exert more pressure and build territory.

They were able to find gaps, force turnovers and retain possession allowing another five tries to be scored.

Regan Hubbard rounded a handful of defenders to score in another powerhouse performance.

Winger Rob Marsden added the third a few minutes later after breaking through a determined defence.

Conway Evans had only come off the bench minutes before adding the bonus point try in bulldozing fashion.

Evans has made significant contributions off the bench over the last few weeks so this was a good one to add to the resume.

The conversions for these three tries were missed but at 22-0 and with the try bonus point secured it was a confident performance.

Ward added the final two tries of the half himself and converted them both to leave the half time score at 36-0.

That’s not to say it was a perfect performance. A few overlaps were left unexploited, a couple of balls were lost and, perhaps most perplexingly, talking back to the referee cost them 10 metres on numerous occasions.

The second half was largely more of the same - both the strengths and weakness - great attacking flair but sometimes overcome by white-line-fever.

That said, another five tries were added in the second half.

Walters opened the half with another to add to his collection.

A successful conversion saw the score rise to 43-0 and helped Ward secure the man of the match award from matchday sponsor AIPS Insurance.

Ward shared this accolade with Jack Purdy who had an impressive and industrious performance in the pack, helping to secure the ball required for the tries to be scored.

Hubbard added another two for a personal hat-trick, one converted and one not, before Walters completed his hat trick.

At 60-0 you’d be forgiven for thinking this game was done and dusted.

But it wasn’t. While the Gods had not smiled on them for the majority of the game, the visitors still had something in the tank.

A bit of possession and territory saw multiple home defenders beaten and East Retford’s first points of the match.

It was a shame it came at such a late point because it was a spectacle to behold and head coach Robinson would not have been happy at how his defence, robust up to this point, had been carved open. A missed conversion saw the score read 60-5.

Walters added the final score as a late penalty saw possibly the first lineout drive of the entire game.

Powering through the visitors’ tired defence, Walters gladly added his fourth try to the home team’s final tally of 11.

A missed conversion saw the final score read 65-5 after a well-deserved and confident all round performance.

Mansfield rest next weekend and are back in action on 29th January where they play away at Grimsby.