Mansfield edge out league leaders in a cracker

After a couple of weeks of licking their wounds after a loss in their last home match, Mansfield were absolutely ready and rearing to go as they welcomed Oundle to Eakring Road, who were sitting comfortably at the top of the league table.

This was a completely different blue-and-white performance full of fire and ferocity and a complete refusal to yield. That said, Oundle are not at the top of the table for nothing and took the home team to the very edge and back. Despite a fine mist of rain coating everything around, the game didn’t suffer at all and ended up being a fantastic contest. It took until the very last second of the game before Mansfield could breathe a sigh of relief and bask in their victory.

Mansfield actually dominated much of the first half. They were sharp in attack, putting together multiple phases, working hard to reclaim their own ball and winning lots of penalties due to the pressure they were applying. That’s not to say Oundle were playing badly, but the blue-and-whites were piling the pressure on for the first 30 minutes and were able to rack up a healthy lead.

First, a succession of penalties saw the pressure increase before Freya Walker was able to break through the spirited defence and open up the scoring. A successful conversion by Laina Corah saw the score read 7-nil. A second try came after relentless pressure saw the visitors drop the ball on their 5 metre line, Leah McGready scooped it up and dived over for the first of a brace.

Another conversion by Corah saw the home team up their lead to 14-0. A third try came shortly after as the ball was skilfully passed down the line to the wing, Ivy Stevens managing to evade the defence to score Mansfield’s third. A missed conversion saw, after 30 minutes, the home team in a 19-0 lead.

However, the next 10 minutes belonged to the visitors as they were able to get their gears moving and find their way into the game. A Mansfield scrum on their own 5 metre line gave them opportunity to clear their lines.

However, a monster push from the visitors saw them push the blue-and-whites off their own ball, gather it and crash over the line. A successful conversion saw them on the board, 19-7. Two more tries came from Oundle before the break, clearly galvanised by the previous score.

With more possession, they fed their big runners through the middle, punching holes into the home defence and really making them work. They were fierce in the rucks and turned over multiple balls. With power and pace, they were able to add two more to their tally, both unconverted, and take the halftime score to just two points, 19-17.

The second half carried on the performance from the visitors and saw Mansfield match them stride for stride. It was powerful from both sides, with absolutely thunderous hits going in from both sides. Defence was outstanding, rucks were heavily contested, the scrums were a dogfight and despite a fine mist of rain causing some handling errors, both teams were able to play an offloading game that meant nobody could take a moment to breathe.

A few stoppages to injury notwithstanding, the second half was non-stop action from end to end. Mansfield were able to pull back in to the lead with Elodie Fleet capping off an inspirational performance with a try, helping her win the joint player of the match award. Fleet was joined as player of the match by Sarah Payne, who was front and centre of everything positive about the blue-and-whites.

McGready showed her reaction time again with another pick up of a loose ball to finish off her brace. Both conversions were missed but the home team had opened up a useful lead, 29-17.

Oundle once again showed why they are top of the table with an intercept and 60 metre sprint to put themselves back in the game, a missed conversion leaving the gap just seven points, 29-22.

More powerful running battered at the defensive door of the home team. Despite that defence being fantastic, eventually it couldn’t hold and the visitors were able to get themselves to back within two points with just seconds remaining. With the teams being so evenly matched, a successful conversion would have seen this game end in a draw. However, the conversion was missed leaving the final score 29-27 to the home team.

This was a game of fine margins and the blue-and-whites were able to claim victory by the difference of just one conversion. Mansfield were able to dominate the first 30 minutes of the game and hold Oundle at bay. However, once the half hour mark hit and the visitors found their stride, this was a superb game of rugby, fiercely contested and played with a lot of heart.

Despite not coming away with the victory, Oundle do take home two fully deserved bonus points for their efforts. While the points scorers and players of the match get their name in lights, and deservedly so, this was a team performance: cohesive, controlled and united. What a sport. What a game!