Rugby: Douglas to host Bowdon

Vagabonds on the road at Bury 

Report by Dave Christian:

Bowdon take on Douglas at Port-e-Chee this weekend in Regional 2 North West with both clubs chasing late season points but for different reasons. 

Bowdon are still in with a shout of a finish in the promotion places or even the league title, they’re currently in second but with them, Waterloo and Sandbach split by just five points, the league could be anyone’s. 

Douglas are poised in seventh but within striking distance of as high as fifth - this could be their highest league finish ever and the squad will be up for this game. 

The away leg gave Bowdon a 67-15 win so they’ll be coming with confidence and must start favourites.

At this stage of the season there’ll be a few carrying knocks, John Dutnall perhaps one of these; Mark Oldfield however hasn’t played for a couple of weeks and he’s a useful addition to any back row. 

The half back pairing of Robson and Ross is blooming and Douglas have plenty of pace out wide to go with it - while I can’t see Douglas winning this, they should get a better return than they did away at Bowdon.

Vagabonds head to third-placed Bury

With just six fixtures remaining on Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire, 'Vagas' have a toughie this week. 

They travel to third place Bury who have probably lost too many games to finish in the promotion places, but will view every point as a prisoner in their run in, just in case either of the leading two have any mishaps. 

Bury won the reverse fixture at Ballafletcher 39-10 back in November and with home advantage must start as favourites.

Bury have won 11 from 17 while Vagabonds are three from 16 so the momentum clearly lies with them. 

Additionally, Vagas have the bluntest attack and the leakiest defence in the standings which when all mixed together doesn’t give them much of a statistical chance. 

Bury don’t however have much of a points difference which suggests some vulnerability at the back which perhaps 'Vagas' can exploit.

As always for an away tie, much will depend on the availability of personnel to travel. 

With injuries to Wells, Bonwick, Benson and Marques, they’ve had to make some changes to the forwards and backs. 

Plus last week at home Tom Gascoyne, Dave Keenan, Ed Knight and Harry Goodwin were all able to step in and help plug the gaps. 

If these guys are available to travel and perhaps Bonwick regains fitness, they should put up a good scrap for the points.

Vikings to welcome Nomads in Manx Shield

This is essentially the battle for second place as Ramsey have all but won outright and while Nomads won the previous encounters this season, a smaller QEII pitch may just assist Vikings and drive a close result.

Nomads were a tad under-gunned for last week’s trip to Ramsey and were punished for it. 

This Saturday however the absence of the Six Nations and the slightly shorter journey may attract a few back. 

Mark Young and Finn McGregor both put in big performances last Saturday to keep the Nomads heart beating. 

They’ll need a little more against Vikings - Harry Goodwin and Ed Knight have been honing their skills in league rugby with Vagabonds and Knight bagged two tries against Ramsey a fortnight ago - this has the makings of a close game.

Douglas Casuals take on Ramsey in friendly

Don’t be fooled by the Casuals’ name or the friendly fixture...this is a quality Douglas side which has beaten Ramsey and Nomads already this side of New Year. 

Douglas can only name an 18-man squad for their league match and anyone not involved can join the Casuals side to bring current experience to compliment the past experience which many of the Casuals have in abundance. 

Players like Danny Creer, Mark Shortland and Carl Conroy have bags of good level rugby under the belt and with the addition of a few youngsters this side is very dangerous.

Ramsey should see the return of Jake Richmond, Sam Corlett and gamechanger Micheal Flynn this week - All were away at Six Nations last Saturday and slotting these players in alongside the form men Matt Meechan and Josh Corteen should give Ramsey an edge, but will it be sharp enough?

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