Rugby: Douglas narrowly beaten by Firwood Waterloo

Vagabonds suffer cup defeat at Dukinfield

Report by Dave Christian:

Douglas’ season opener against Firwood Waterloo didn’t quite go to plan with the visitors edging out an 8-6 win at a sunny Port-e-Chee.

James Ratcliffe kicked a penalty for Waterloo to give his side an early lead. Jack Shimmin levelled for Douglas a few minutes later as Douglas started to apply pressure in the first half. 

Just after the first water break of the game Waterloo went in front when prop Kurt Riley was driven over from a five metre line out. 

Jack Shimmin nailed his second penalty in stoppage time at the end of the first half and the teams turned around with Waterloo clinging onto a slender 8-6 lead.

Try as they might Douglas couldn’t break down Waterloo in the second half. The visitors looked a little sharper after the break and had a spell camped on the Douglas line. 

That however came to nought and the closest scoring chances in the second half were missed penalties at each end.

Douglas did pick up a losing bonus point from the game but that will be little consolation for a game where they could and probably should have won.

Vagabonds defeated by Dukinfield

In the Cheshire Bowl, Vagabonds lost their first tie 45-0 away at Dukinfield. 

The Manchester side raced into a 19-0 lead after twenty minutes and Vagas never really recovered. T

hey did however dig in defensively and almost an hour elapsed before Dukinfield could score again. 

They hit a purple patch however and pushed the lead out to 45-0 before a final scoreless ten minutes.

**

Results

Regional 2 North West

Douglas 6-8 Firwood Waterloo

Cheshire Bowl

Dukinfield 45-0 Vagabonds