Sat 10 Sep 2022
Retford stutter in a close encounter.
The afternoon started with a minute’s silence to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II..
The sun came out, the crowds gathered and the anticipation grew for what is typically a physical and feisty affair against Mansfield. The mighty green and gold were eager to start with the same ferocity as last time out and establish some early dominance.
Despite controlling possession and territory, simple errors and a stuttering set piece released the pressure valve for Mansfield time and again. A lost Retford line out led to Mansfield quickly spreading the ball against Retford’s staggered back line. Despite a huge effort to scramble back from Adam Fenney and Luke Osbourne, Mansfield just managed to dot down in the corner.
Retford kept their heads and continued to pile the pressure on. Adam Fenney, showing the benefits of yoga, seemingly floated highest to claim the kick-off. Unfortunately, the same story continued with spurned chances and errors allowing Mansfield to clear their lines.
Some fantastic work from our tight five forced a penalty well within the range of James Wright who duly converted on the stroke of halftime. This left the game finely poised at 3-5 in Mansfield's favour.
The halftime chat was positive. We now had the wind behind us, the sun in their eyes and our strength and conditioning coach, Ben Norbury, threatening burpees from the sideline. Cutting out a few errors would surely give us a well-deserved victory…..
The second half started with an immediate error leading to Mansfield scoring under the posts stretching the score to 3-12.
This was not what coach Ali ‘Starsky’ Waring had hoped our response would be to his halftime talk. It did, however, kick the team into action and some fantastic play followed. Jordan Hands, loving being back on the rugby pitch, was knocking props off their feet and smashing into contact always getting up beaming for the whole of DN22 to see.
Callum now safely returned to his natural habitat and showed what he’s been trained to do, along with his back row buddies Keelan and Simon they were dominating the breakdown and aggressive on both sides of the ball.
Retford now started building the phases and made ground with every carry. Moving the ball wide to Joe ‘fender’ Charlesworth who delighted the crowds with an enormous handoff, launching the Mansfield prop into orbit. Further trademark carries from the explosive James Wright and Harry Salathiel brought us to within touching distance of the whitewash when out of nowhere Simon Phillips launched over the breakdown to score. 10-12 to Mansfield
Retford’s new half-back pairing of Oli ‘Judas’ Breedon and Jack Jenkins was starting to click and control the game. Bossing the forwards around the field and creating space for the pretty boys to run. Jack had been kicking cleverly all game and nailed an impressive 50/22 to Ordsall Road’s delight. Retford just had to stay calm and continue with what we knew was working.
Simple errors started to set in again, which lead to a series of penalties being conceded and eventually a Mansfield lineout 10m from the Retford line. An eager defence left a dog leg which the opposing 10 ghosted thought to score under the posts. 10-19 in Mansfield’s favour with less than 5 minutes to play.
Retford continued to batter away at the Mansfield defence, but it held firm allowing them to see out the game.
Retford hobbled away from the encounter disappointed to lose and knowing that on another day the result may have been different. This shows a vast improvement from January when Mansfield schooled Retford over the park. There is still plenty to work on but our never give up attitude is something to be proud of, and will serve us well as we progress through the season.
Retford’s MoM was selected as Jordan Hands for his brutal tackling and dominant runs.
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