MANSFIELD COLTS 19
LINCOLN COLTS 0
NLD COLTS GROUP 3
BY JOSEPH VERNEY
Lincoln Colts improved in the second half and the forwards put in some immense work, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to prevent a 19-0 defeat at Mansfield.
The opening 10 minutes were evenly matched with a bit of to and fro before Lincoln conceded a scrum on their own five-metre line.
Mansfield turned that territory into a try and, although Lincoln produced some positive phases of play at times, the hosts added a further two scores in the first half.
Lincoln improved a lot after the break to keep Mansfield away from their try line in a scoreless second half, but it wasn’t enough to change the result.
After the match Lincoln’s Director of Age Grade Rugby Chris Briggs said: “Unfortunately, everything was 1% behind where it needed to be with too many last pass passes that were dropped and the offload didn’t quite go to hand.
“In the team chat at the end we said if we were 1% better we would have won by 50, but unfortunately we didn’t.
“The lads were a little bit disheartened, but when we look back on the VEO we know there will be a lot of positives to take from it.”
Briggs also praised the performances of Lincoln’s forward and back of the match - Theo R-A and Preston L, adding: “It was a step up for both players. They found another level and were instrumental in keeping Mansfield scoreless in the second half.”
