Last week it was Dewsbury danger man Paul Gledhill who tore apart the Stags defence, and this week it was left to second row John Smith to the put the home side to the sword with four tries.

His first came only three minutes after a surging run, but Stags clawed back precious points only minutes later when Barry John Swindells hit a penalty from the half way line.

A real war of attrition followed for the next 20 minutes with each side failing to score a point.

But the final minutes of the half belonged to Smith, as he added to tries to his tally in seven minutes with some good running that the home defence simply couldn't handle.

With a 16-2 lead the Lions looked to be on their way to a win, but a sensational start to the second half saw Stags score three tries in 15 minutes, giving them a two point lead.

Barry John Swindells was first to cross, backing up a midfield break. Caine Wynyard then powered his way over and was then part of the move of the game as, in combination with debutant Meli Allen and Swindells, he sent in Blake Kirby.

But no sooner had Stags stormed into the lead for the first time during the game then they were behind again, as Smith ran over to add his fourth with 20 minutes left on the clock and kicker Danny Giles successfully converting.

The gritty Lions side managed to play good basic rugby for the remaining quarter of the game, and held out for a valuable win that leapfrogs them over Stags and into seventh place.

Coach Troy Perkins said: "We knew it was going to be tough but I was confident that if we performed to our best we could get a result.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the best start. We spoke about what we had to rectify in the second half and they responded well but conceded a soft try with 20 minutes left.

"We still have a few players on the sidelines which doesn't help but hopefully over the next few weeks we will get them back and that will give us more depth for the second half of the season."

Stags' next game is this Saturday at Gateshead Storm