Mansfield 3XV 15 - Kesteven 2XV 14
This was a dreadul match as covered by Rob Hughes' heart felt report. Brett Login was disgusted by the violence in the play of Mansfield and the Club is currently considering its options in dealing with this.
Simon Oakes, who was sent off in the match has been suspended by the Club for 3 weeks.
Kesteven travelled to Mansfield short of four regulars but still had a strong squad available for this difficult match. They were looking to reverse the home defeat in December and started well with a try by 17 year old Robert Cann after a charged down kick. Andy Price converted.
The early score seemed to stun Mansfield and they quickly responded with some robust and illegal play. One such incident, a punch to the head of a Kesteven player led to a Mansfield player being sent off. This did not appear to change the home side's approach and teh game descended into chaos.
Kesteven did try to play some rugby and added a second try when Will Price went over Brother Andy again added the conversion or a well deserved 14 - 0 lead.
Kesteven suffered from the deteriorating game and Simon Oakes was sent off for illeagal use of the boot. This was the turning point of the game as Simon's presence at scrum half where he controlled the game with the strength of his booming kicks was sadly missed.
Mansfield were able to exert more pressure and eventually ground down the Kesteven defence to score three tries, the clincher coming just two minutes from time.
Some poor tackling and lack of discipline under extreme duress were the reasons for this defeat, but there were some fine performances by this young side. Jon Korcz in the pack was outstanding while newcomer Kevin Robertson played well at full back in the second half, while Rob Cann who at 17 was the smallest player on the pitch, suffered from some rough treatment but got up and played the full 80 minutes with pride and massive heart. Dean Ward was the only member of the squad who did not play. Rob did not want to expose him to that sort of game. He will have more opportunities to expand his experience before the end of the season.
Squad was P Shields, B. Login, G. Purvis, S.Bowles, J. Korcz, J. Smith, R. Cann, A. Brown, P. Mount, S. Oakes, M. Harland, D Blackley, WPrice,
A ,Price T,Burton, T Woolerton, D Featherstone, K Robertson, R Jordan D,Ward
