RUGBY: Strong start to new year for Douglas in Regional 2 NW League

Good day for Ramsey in Manx Shield

Results 07 January 2023

Regional 2 North West

Douglas 27-19 Wilmslow

Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire

Old Bedians 54-16 Vagabonds

Ravenscroft Manx Shield

Western Vikings 35-55 Ramsey Blues

Ramsey Reds 43-12 Nomads Whites

 Douglas celebrate New Year with a win

Douglas started off 2023 with a 27-19 victory against Wilmslow in Regional 2 North West and claimed a try bonus point in the process. They led 17-0 at half time with tries from Simon Hoddinott and Sam McCord which were both converted by Luke Hyland, plus a Jack Shimmin penalty. Bradley Bowmar went over for Douglas’ third try in the second half before Wilmslow fought back to set up a nail biting finish with the Douglas lead just three points at 22-19. Brendan Kelly’s try not only made the game safe for Douglas, but earned them a valuable bonus point and denied Wilmslow from claiming a losing bonus point to boot.

Vagabonds downed at Old Bedians

Vagas suffered a 54-16 defeat in their 2023 opener away at Old Bedians in Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire. The hosts bagged two early tries to lead 12-0 after ten minutes. The Vagas pack then got to grips and a Mark Oldfield try converted by Cam Findlay got them onto the scoreboard. More forward pressure yielded penalties and Findlay nailed two which saw Vagas leading 13-12 at half time. In the second half Bedians grabbed another try and a third Findlay penalty saw Bedians leading 19-16 as the game moved into its final quarter. Vagas then began to fade and with Bedians playing down the slope they ran away with the game.

Ramsey claim top two spots in Ravenscroft Manx Shield

Wins for Ramsey’s Reds and Blues saw them retain the top two positions in the Manx Shield standings.

The Reds beat Nomads Whites 43-12 at a windy Mooragh Park. First half tries from Ben Hardman and Matt Meechan, both converted by Brandon Atchison put the Reds 14-0 in front. George Callister hit back for Nomads and when Mark Young converted, Ramsey’s half time lead was 14-7. Tom Collister went over for Nomads early in the second half to make it 14-12 but from that point on, the scoring was all at the other end. Meechan added two more for his hat trick and Brandon Atchison ran in three of his own to finish the game with a twenty three point personal haul.

At QE2 Ramsey Blues raced into a 14-0 lead. Vikings hit back with tries from Ryan Burke and Harry Goodwin plus two Burke conversions. Ramsey were however too quick and by half time they led 38-14. Morgan Armstrong-Paton pounced twice for Vikings in the second half and Josh Hockney got their fifth try with Burke’s boot flawless with conversions. Three Ramsey tries however were enough for them to claim maximum points.