Mass brawl mars shock defeat for angry Ashfield

The 20-man brawl, which belonged to a bygone of age of rugby, was not for the fainthearted and resulted in two red cards, including one for Dan Chapman for the frustrated visitors.

The cards added to the five yellows the referee also brandished in the game, taking his tally to 12 on the two occasions he has officiated Ashfield this season. However, there were few excuses for the 22-15 reverse against a Lincolnshire side languishing at the foot of the National League’s Midland 3 East (North) division with just two wins from their 12 games so far this term. And at the final whistle, coach Gareth Jones could not hide his disappointment.

“Basic errors cost us dearly,” moaned Jones. “Sleaford offered little from open play, but capitalised on our mistakes.

“Before the game, we said keep it tight round the fringes and do not play an expansive game, making sure you secure the ball when taking contact.

“However, the plan was not executed for various reasons, and that’s what made the performance so frustrating.”

All the pre-match evidence had suggested Ashfield, sitting fifth in the table, would celebrate their first away win of the campaign. And their bright start did nothing to quell the expectation as Matt Upton’s early penalty gave them a three-point lead.

However, their first mistake helped Sleaford to take the ball against the head and race half the length of the pitch to respond immediately with a try, and Ashfield’s anguish was compounded by an injury to key player Jake Manning, who sustained a deep gash above his right eye that hampered him for the rest of the afternoon. Outside-centre Manning had scored two tries himself when the teams met in September, so he received special attention this time round and ended up thoroughly battered, bloody and bruised.

The visitors restored their lead when Greg Utting finished a well-worked set-piece with an unconverted try after Mark Denman had secured a lineout ball on the five-metre line. And the second half started brightly too as captain Chris Houseman and Jono Richardson set up Greg Newbutt to score a try that was converted by Upton, leaving Ashfield in a commanding 15-5 lead.

Sadly, from there, it all went downhill. As the ref began to flash his cards, Sleaford reduced the arrears with a penalty and, when a man up, they cashed in on some uncharacteristic missed tackles by Ashfield to score a converted a try under the posts.

With the visitors annoyed that foul play was going unpunished, Sleaford added another similar converted try before the unsavoury melee brought a forgettable afternoon to a close.