Four tries in the opening period!!

REPORT WRITTEN BY ROB WILDMAN

Midlands East One

Mansfield 38 Newark 29

Newark collapsed in the early part of the second half at Eakring Road to hand victory to their Nottinghamshire neighbours.

Four tries in the opening period following half-time enabled Mansfield to stretch a half-time lead of 14-8 to 39-8.

Newark did not help themselves by having three players sin binned in a disastrous spell starting just before the interval.

The positive for a much-changed Newark team – featuring only six starting players from the previous week against Kettering – was a try bonus point following a late recovery which produced three tries to go alongside a first-half effort from wing James Stark.

Newark’s second-half tries came from substitute forward Shaun May, lock Rory Williams and captain Matt Clark. James Offer kicked two conversions plus a first-half penalty. Substitute Danny Coen also kicked a conversion.

Coen had replaced Toby Edlin who dislocated a shoulder on his first appearance in the senior team for over a year.

Newark had led briefly, 5-3, in the first half when wing Stark scored a neat try by chipping over the Mansfield defence to win the race to the line.
That advantage did not last long and Mansfield had taken a 14-8 lead by half-time thanks to the first of their five tries plus three penalty goals.

Newark’s other points in the opening 40 minutes had come through a penalty near the interval from Offer.

Team: Usher; Edlin, Brewer, Ford, Stark; Offer, Matt Clark (capt); Dunning, Tomlinson, Priestley, Tatham, Williams, Webster, Curry, James Price.

Subs: May, Bartsch, Danny Coen.

Tries: Stark, May, Williams, Clark.

Conversions: Offer (2), Coen.

Penalty goal: Offer.

Yellow cards: Offer, Curry, Price.

Rob Wildman