Rugby: In-form Douglas head to Birkenhead Park

Ramsey on rearranged trip to Clitheroe

Report by Dave Christian:

Douglas will attempt to keep their wagon rolling with a trip to Birkenhead Park on Saturday. 

The two sides have met ten times over the years with Birkenhead Park winning seven of them so its always been historically tough. 

This season though, the balance may have swung towards Douglas who are four wins out of five, while 'Park' are two from six and even though they’ve played an extra game, they’ve scored less than Douglas and conceded more.

There’s likely to be changes to the Douglas squad - Skipper Blake Snell remains on the sick list with Liam Kirkpatrick likely to continue as captain; Prop, Simon Hoddinott is also unavailable this week and Rob Todd the probable beneficiary after some fine performances for the Celts.

On paper, there’s a sniff of an away win here, but, there are no “gimmees” in this league and it will be a tough test.

Ramsey try Clitheroe for a second time

Storm Amy put the kibosh on Ramsey's first trip to Clitheroe and this weekend the Northerners try again. 

Clitheroe however may have just hit their straps - they recorded a thumping 102-5 win against Congleton last Saturday and Congleton beat Ramsey in the very first game of the season. 

This suggests Ramsey may have to wait a little longer, there may however be a chink of light for the Manxmen. 

The Congleton line up for the Clitheroe game was much-changed from the side that beat Ramsey and the travelling distance of 70 miles each way may have had an effect.

Ramsey have picked up two try bonus points which shows they're capable of scoring and as the two sides have never met before, there's no form on which to judge other than the respective results against Congleton and Bury, these suggest a Clitheroe win.

Ramsey look likely to be missing Josh Leece who suffered a recurrence of a summer shoulder injury; Influential centre, Jake Richmond is also out with "hurty knee" but has been making a steady recovery, he's unlikely to pass a fitness test for Clitheroe but could be ready for the Cheshire Bowl game with Southern Nomads the following week.

Luke Ward is currently at college in Lancashire and he may well be the man to cover the full-back position and Adam Dempsey covered for Richmond last week against Ormskirk and scored a try, which means he may well keep the centre jersey. 

The only other change is likely on the wing where Fynn Bradley steps in for the unavailable Will Millsopp.

The league is without doubt tough, but Ramsey are aiming to grow into it.

Clitheroe however may not be the place to claim their first win.

Nomads host Vikings in Manx Shield

Southern Nomads finally get a home game this Saturday when Western Vikings visit Ballakilley Park in the Manx Shield. 

Their last meeting was really close in the first half with Nomads eventually taking control and finishing 65-36.

The pitch at Ballakilley is a little larger than QEII and this may help Nomads who looked more dangerous in the wide channels. 

They also had a solid win away at Lymm last week, with scrum half George Callister bagging a hat-trick. 

There were also some positive performances from youngsters Ewan Chapman and Zac Hand. 

Vikings should see the return of Ed Knight and Harry Goodwin from Vagabonds duty and their league experience will surely help, but may not quite be enough on the day.

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