Douglas Rugby Club slipped to fourth in Regional Two North West, but a solitary league point at Burnage could have been so much more on Saturday.

Using the blustery conditions in their first-half favour to pin the Manx side back, Burnage pressure and a Douglas error coughed up points early on.

An attempted kick out of defence turned sour and Burnage went through the phases before Ethan Brewster battled over in the corner for a fourth-minute try which number 10 Grant Connon converted for 7-0.

Matty Wood then showed his silky running skills after collecting a loose ball near the Greater Manchester hosts' 22.

A dart inside against the traffic and a couple of jinks past two Burnage defenders sent him in unopposed, and his two-point conversion levelled matters at 7-7 after nine minutes.

But the Manx side erred again with a quarter gone, a midfield pass going astray to give flanker Brewster a relatively easy hack-on to score.

Connon added the extras for 14-7 and Burnage increased their lead after Douglas conceded a penalty and Connon kicked to the corner.

Two-metre-tall lock Callum Atkinson showed his lineout worth two weeks earlier at Port-e-Chee and again was a safe source of possession. His soaring catch and a well-drilled maul from the Burnage pack chalked up try number three in the corner.

Connon missed the touchline conversion effort, but Douglas needed a boost at 19-7 and it came from fullback Sheldon Higgins.

His abrasive running got Douglas going forward and, allied to Simon Hoddinott’s marauding nature with ball in hand, pressure in the Burnage 22 paid dividends. Scrum-half Harri Wallace picked out Oli Corkish on front-foot ball and the burly winger blasted over for 19-12 with half-time only four minutes away.

A tactical change saw Percy Hampton on for Brandon Hass and Burnage were as acutely aware that a seven-point lead was a miserly lead to take into the second period and upped the tempo.

Number eight Louis Hicks and hooker Jarney Chaudry drove on, and centre Joe Wrigley stormed on to a crash ball setup for a well-worked try.

Connon converted, so Douglas were looking at a 14-point deficit with the elements in their favour for 40 minutes and Hoddinott soon got in on the act again.

Liam Kirkpatrick stole loose ball from a Burnage lineout and Hoddinott thundered through on the short pass to score near the posts. Wood converted for 26-19 and it looked a very different ball game.

Mark Oldfield and Craig Martin emptied the bench, then Douglas exposed their Achilles heel. The penalty pattern over the last few weeks has let opponents off the hook and, although reduced on Saturday, the timing and position stunted momentum.

The visitors couldn’t make the ultimate best of the elements and, when Burnage winger Stuart Oldham pounced on a try-scoring opportunity, Douglas were looking down a 33-19 barrel.

A penalty apiece from Connon and Wood for 36-22 with a quarter to go, and Douglas hooker Josh Campbell posted the bonus-point try with an unstoppable blast through two defenders.

Wood’s conversion made it a one-score game at 36-29 and Burnage pieced together enough possession to frustrate the Douglas attack.

Burnage finished on top with a 74th-minute Oliver Fallon try in the corner, born of phase after phase of pressure, to leave Douglas wondering what might have been.

Douglas squad: Brandon Hass, Josh Campbell, Simon Hoddinott, Harry Cartwright, Conor Garland, Blake Everson, Liam Kirkpatrick (captain), John Dutnall, Harri Wallace, Matty Wood, Josh Duncan, Harry Hewson, Kyle Martin, Oli Corkish, Sheldon Higgins, Mark Oldfield, Percy Hampton, Craig Martin.