Opening-weekend victories for Vagabonds, Douglas and Ramsey
THE three Manx sides competing in South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two all got off to winning starts on the opening day of the rugby season.
At Port-e-Chee, Douglas dispatched newly relegated Ormskirk comfortably, winning 34-10. Away at Oldershaw, Vagabonds hung on to win 28-24 while down in Derbyshire, Ramsey beat newly promoted Buxton 15-11.
Ormskirk actually took the lead at Douglas with an early Alex Lambie penalty. From then on it was one-way traffic and tries from Bryn Snellgrove, Ryan Maddox and Scott Goodall left Douglas 15-3 ahead at the break.
Douglas piled on the points in the second half with further tries coming from Niall Killey (2) and Mike Hebden, plus two conversions from skipper Goodall. Ormskirk had a late consolation try from wing Joe Hodson which was converted by Lambie.
Vagabonds picked up a useful win away at Oldershaw despite pressure from the home side right at the end. Tries from Bryn Griffiths and Sam Brennan, plus two conversions from Aiden O’Shea, gave Vagas a 14-7 half-time lead. Tom Gascoyne and Kev Birchall both crossed for second half tries, again with O’Shea converting both.
Ramsey also won on the road at newly promoted Buxton. Five penalties from Fintan Cummins gave them a 15-6 lead with 10 minutes to play. A late try from Buxton brought them back into range but Ramsey were able to hold on.
South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two
Douglas 34-10 Ormskirk
Oldershaw 24-28 Vagabonds
Buxton 11-15 Ramsey