When it comes to matches, you really want your players to step up a gear or two.

And that’s exactly what happened on Sunday when Mansfield Rugby’s U11s side travelled to Chesterfield Panthers.

On a sunny morning, albeit windy and cold, the boys carried out their training and warm-up showing some of the aggression and determination that their coaches had been eeking out of them at the previous Friday’s training session.

And it showed during the match itself. Despite two early tries from the hosts, all of the team to a man stepped up and provided a great game of rugby for people to watch.

They stopped runs, and they worked hard to rip the ball from their opponents. And when they lost the ball, or missed a tackle, their heads did not go down - they got on with their job.

They also passed the ball well, using their line to full effect, getting the ball out. They also went over in the rucks, pushed hard in the scrums and pushed up well when Chesterfield had the ball.

There were some super tries as well, with good long runs, batting off defenders where they could, or passing to a teammate who could then make further ground.

They took some knocks but it is rugby and a great game like this should only serve to make them better when they next play a match.

Credit to Chesterfield, they were a good side to be playing, with one or two star performances. But, for most of the game, it was evenly-matched.

The game also saw three players make their debut, Alexander, Zander and Finley. All three contributed well to the team and it is good to see that there is a real collective spirit from the boys.

At the end, it was plain to see that the crowd of parents and friends had enjoyed what they had seen and all remarked that the Under 11s had played excellently and improved tremendously as a team.

Well done lads.

Mansfield Rugby Club

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