Positive start continues as Mansfield beat spirited Coalville

Mansfield displayed impressive defence and adventurous attack to overcome a spirited Coalville team on an afternoon of gloomy weather and claim a bonus point victory.

Head coach Anthony Jones said: “That bonus point was really well earned and we did well to keep them from getting their own, now we have to keep this level consistent.”

Coalville started the brighter team, their pace and offloading game really stretching the home team across the pitch and testing the strength of the defence.

A quick tap penalty saw the visitors play a couple of phases before crashing over for the game’s opening score with the conversion missed.

This seemed to galvanise the Blue-and-Whites, who began to assert themselves more into the game and force the momentum to swing.

They pushed the ball all the way to the left, then back to the right, unlocking space for Sam Blackwell to race down the wing and score.

A superb touchline conversion from Ollie Smith saw the home team take the lead.

The next try came against the run of play, a speculative pass was deftly pinched out of the air by the visitors, who managed to evade any chasing defenders to cover 50 metres and score.

A successful conversion put them back in the lead.

Mansfield regrouped from this well and were able to spend the rest of the half keeping the scoreboard ticking.

First, some good phase play and quick possession saw Reece Flowers-Lane take advantage and crash over the line.

A successful conversion, and a penalty a few minutes later, saw Smith increase his team’s score, and the lead to 17-12 at half-time.

The second half saw Mansfield’s confidence rise.

Coalville’s defence was excellent throughout, but the work they were having to do saw their discipline begin to drop and numerous penalties eventually saw them receive a yellow card.

Mansfield were able to take advantage of this, first with Smith slotting a second penalty to add three more points to the tally, then with Paul Taura taking advantage of the relentless waves of pressure to stamp his mark on the game, scoring two tries, both converted, taking the Blue-and-Whites' final tally to 34.

However, an ugly and unnecessary brawl midway through the second half saw both teams reduced by one player and left a stain on what was otherwise a competitive affair.

Coalville did add another converted score towards the end of the game, their doggedness paying off as they were able to find their form from the opening exchanges again and slice through the home defence.