Douglas had already qualified for this week’s Manx Cup final but underlined their strength with a 55-24 win at Ramsey on Saturday afternoon.

A last-minute try from Rory Nicholson secured the northerners a bonus point. This means that they also qualify for the season’s finale and the two will face off again at the weekend.

Douglas went 12-0 up within quarter of an hour with a try from hooker Jack Loughnane and a penalty try which saw Ramsey’s Brandon Atchison sin-binned.

While down to 14, Nicholson pulled one back for Ramsey and Nathan Robson’s conversion made it a five-point game at 12-7.

Douglas then pulled away with tries from Ralph Clarke, Oli Corkish and Kyle Martin. Luke Hyland converted two and at half-time Douglas led 31-7.

Sam McCord crossed twice for Douglas in the opening four minutes of the second half to put the result beyond any doubt.

Atchison pulled one back for Ramsey, but McCord quickly cancelled it out with his hat-trick score and Luca Simmons’s conversion brought up the half century for Douglas.

Josh Corteen bagged Ramsey’s third which Robson converted but Douglas again struck back through Carl Markl-Ferns. As the final whistle approached, Nicholson burrowed his way under a pile of bodies to get Ramsey their bonus point and ensure qualification for the final without needing to factor in points difference.

Both sides have now had a good look at each other ahead of this week’s final at Mooragh Park, kicking off at 3pm.

Douglas are unlikely to change much as everything worked for them. Ramsey will need to sharpen up their tackling and keep the ball well clear of McCord if they fancy their chances for an unlikely Cup win.

DAVE CHRISTIAN