Youngsters impress as Mansfield Women see off Amber Valley

This was a competitive and surprisingly expansive game in wet, turgid conditions.

Perhaps more important than anything was the fact that Mansfield’s squad consisted primarily of new talent, hungry youth players who had made the step up from the U18s to debut for the senior team.

A fairly even first half saw Mansfield settle themselves with these new additions.

However, a dominant second half saw an abundance of ambition and determination as the Blue-and-Whites worked well to pull away and head coach Dave Woodcock said: “Everybody was immense today - the whole squad. I am just very proud today.”

The first half initially saw the visitors on top as Mansfield understandably struggled to find their cohesion.

The stodgy ground underfoot impacted the game, though not as much as it might have.

It didn’t stop the ambition and adventure of either team as they were quite happy to throw the ball around.

While it wasn’t a high-scoring half, it did see three good tries scored.

Amber Valley got onto the scoreboard first with a deft chip over the Mansfield defence that wasn’t tidied up. A little toe poke took it the extra 10m for the try and a successful conversion saw them take a 7-0 lead.

The visitors did add another try this half as their scrum powered their way over the line in an impressive display of strength.

This conversion was missed and their tally of 12 in this half would be their final score.

Mansfield managed to get two of their own in the first period.

Some quick, expansive play saw the visitors' defence stretched to breaking point and Nat Garratt dived over for the first before another passage of phases saw another one added to the tally from Bella Radford. Both conversions were missed which saw the half-time score read 12-10 to Amber Valley.

The second half is where Mansfield really began to show the cohesion they needed.

While the whole team worked well as a unit and gave their all, special mention must go to the 10 U18 girls who had made the step up into senior rugby who were all phenomenal.

Their workrate was tireless, their zeal unwavering and their vision allowed the Blue-and-Whites to somehow make the weather a non-factor in their attack.

Alix Lawson, Nancy Kirk, Jojo Derby, Kyla Morley, Hannah Brereton, Lily-Mae Artliff, Evie Haskell, Connie Fisher, Natalie Doyle and Pippa Wooley were a credit to themselves and to the club and Mansfield hope they will see much more of them over the coming months and years.

Their contribution to this game saw them set up field position, break tackles, and secure turnovers in the rucks.

Amber Valley were more than worthy opponents and until the last 20 minutes they were still in the game.

They were still strong in the scrum and caused a number of problems in the loose, turning over ball and putting in crunching tackles. But, they couldn’t ultimately add to their score.

The Blue-and-Whites’ remaining scores all came from expansive play and line breaks.

It’s a testament to the quality of the game that, despite the weather, there were very few scrums. Instead, numerous jinking runs and power plays saw additional tries added with flair by Morley, who also added a conversion to her tally, and Wooley, who managed to bag two tries and a conversion, to cap off a very impressive first game.

Not to be completely outdone, Cat Chambers added one for herself as well.

Joint players of the match Alix Lawson and Evie Haskell, both from the youth section, were imperious all afternoon, carving up the field and having standout performances that belied their age and experience.

After 80 minutes, Mansfield had emerged victorious, not only showing a maturity beyond their years but also denying Amber Valley any more additions to their score, despite their own impressive display.

It took a little time for the team to gel but that was to be expected. When it did gel, it worked extremely well.

The visitors didn’t make things easy at all and made a nuisance of themselves all after but just couldn’t find that final pass.

As Mansfield’s confidence grew it was clear to see how much the youth game has developed and how bright the future is going to be for this team and club.