In-form Mansfield put Belper to the sword

This fixture earlier in the year saw Belper outmuscle the Blue-and-Whites to take the victory so there was a point to be proven on both sides - Belper wanted to complete the double and Mansfield wanted to close that pre-existing wound.

What transpired was a clinical performance from the home side to run in 11 tries and claim all five points.

Head coach Wayne Robinson was understandably buoyant and said: “To still be performing that well without a couple of players and at this point in the season is something I’m very happy with.”

While the home team did rack up a big score, they faced a tough tussle against a sizeable Belper pack who had already found ways to unseam the defensive threads earlier in the season.

Mansfield’s defence has been one of the success stories of this season and that was evident here. Belper huffed and puffed and battered and pummelled for pretty much the entire 80 minutes but just couldn’t find a way through.

To their credit, they had fluidity in attack and power in the tight channels and were not short of innovation and creativity. It is credit to the Mansfield defence that Belper’s only points were from a penalty kick.

The home team opened the scoring after a well-placed Crossfield kick was caught by winger Rio Turner who then showed a clean pair of heels to beat two defenders and dot down over the line.

The visitors struggled to contain the pace on the outside and this was utilised well by the Blue-and-Whites. The conversion was missed but the home team were into a 5-0 lead.

Consistent phases of play and a willingness to keep the ball in hand during the first half saw Mansfield able to build a platform to really attack with.

With quick ball provided from the rucks and swift passing through the backs, there was space to play with and territory to be taken.

Rob Marsden added his name to the score sheet with his team’s second, going from long distance and exploiting the space on the outside before Turner added his second to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

The fourth try of the half came from a sturdy platform provided by a dominant set piece.

The scrum was in the ascendency for most of the afternoon and the lineout saw a powerful driving maul crash over the line to pick up the try bonus point before half time.

Full back Harry Brough added a conversion to see the half-time score read 22-3.

In high-scoring games, there is a tendency for teams to lose structure as players become eager to put their own mark on the game.

Mansfield have perhaps been guilty of ‘white line fever’ in small doses throughout this season, areas where more patience and restraint would have been beneficial.

The second half did see the Blue-and-Whites kick more ball than in the first half but they largely remained structured and focused, which allowed them to add an additional seven tries, a testament to the growing maturity within the squad as a whole.

This would not have been possible without a platform to work with.

This came from an outstanding performance by the pack in both defence and attack.

While the backs were able to play with space vision, this was made possible by quick ball and a solid set piece.

This was nowhere more visible than the matchday sponsor Glenair’s player of the match, Nathan Hind. Hind was a pillar all game, both in the set piece and the loose. He has grown immensely in stature and is making the number one shirt his own.

So, on to the tries. First, Kian Johnson powered through a couple of defenders to keep his impressive season going.

Turner added a second with another mazy run that left defenders rooted to the spot as they could only watch him dance by and Emmanuel Ogunode continued the exploitation of the open space to race 30m and return to scoring ways.

Zayn Chiappetta scored perhaps the longest of the long distance tries during the game, receiving the ball well into his own half and outpacing the defence to add to his growing tally.

Finley Holt kept up his impressive performances by not only being a commanding presence in the centre but crossing the line after more impressive platforming from the pack.

The remaining two tries came from full back Harry Brough, who had marshalled well throughout and deserved his reward.

Brough added three conversions while John-Ross Ward added the final two points to round off a clinical and well-deserved 65-3 victory.

Belper were resilient to the end and they’ll no doubt be disappointed that they didn’t add to their penalty but they kept the Mansfield defence working all afternoon.

This was a positive performance by the Blue-and-Whites and they go into the final two games having had one of the best seasons in the last decade.

This squad is really growing in to a solid unit and hopefully they can keep that development in to the next few years.

Next week, Mansfield travel to Boston, you can follow the action on Twitter @Mansfieldrugby