Friday saw the culmination of a hard season of school senior rugby as defending champions Castle Rushen took on Ballakermeen at Mooragh Park under the lights.

It was the Douglas side that started the more brightly, keeping CRHS pegged back for the first five minutes and, had they opted to kick for goal from an early penalty in the 22, could well have led.

Instead, it was Castle Rushen who opened the scoring with a well-worked try in the far corner by Harri Radford, after a series of penalties conceded by the defending team.

It was nearly two after 16 minutes when a try in the opposite corner was disallowed for a forward pass.

Balla sensed they were just still in the game and, keeping the ball in their forwards, were rewarded for their efforts when the unlikely figure of lock Rhys Roberts stepped up and placed a penalty through the posts after 33 minutes to make it 5-3.

Although this should have given the Douglas outfit a lifeline they needed to get back into the match, the contest was effectively over when they had a disastrous 30 seconds either side of the interval.

With the final play of the first half Radford went over again in the far left corner and although the conversion was missed, from the second half kick-off Castle Rushen immediately gained possession and a stunned Balla found themselves 15-3 down as Elliott Callow went over in the far right corner.

Castle Rushen began to play with even more freedom, using their exceptional backline, with number 10 Harry Swayne in particular constantly finding gaps in the Balla line.

Nevertheless, the Douglas side held out, their forwards putting in a hard shift to keep the scoreline respectable.

In fact, had Balla had a regular kicker, they might have cut the deficit. Twice they opted for a scrum instead of kicking for goal with penalties and on both occasions gave up possession to the CRHS scrum.

After 59 minutes, the Balla defence was once more breached. A series of rucks inside the BHS 22 were recycled very quickly and a fourth try saw Radford complete a fine hat-trick in the far left corner.

Radford once more narrowly missed the conversion to leave the score 20-3, but the next try, in the 69th minute after a succession of penalties, was under the posts. Skipper Josh Smith finished the move and this time Radford was able to cap an exceptional individual performance by adding the extra points.

In the final play of the match Ballakermeen were rewarded for their endeavours with a breakaway try. Captain Owen Pickett broke from inside his own half, and on reaching the 22 unselfishly offloaded to substitute Luke Strickett-Morling who went over for a well-deserved consolation.

The conversion was missed and the final whistle sounded seconds later.

A commanding and thoroughly deserved win for Castle Rushen, but Ballakermeen could leave the field with a certain amount of pride, having made the game difficult for their opposition and given everything until the very last whistle.

Radford was a clear Man of the Match - three tries and a conversion just reward for his outstanding all-round display.

Congratulations to both sides for an entertaining game of rugby, thanks to Joe Phelan and his fellow officials and to Ramsey Rugby Club for hosting the game once more.