Ramsey Rugby Club edged their way into the final of the Cheshire Bowl after a hard-fought scrap with Southern Nomads at Mooragh Park on Saturday afternoon.

Some late tries from the northerners put some gloss on the scoreboard in a game where Nomads were in contention for much of it and indeed led 26-19 at half-time.

Clayton Matthews got the ball rolling for Nomads with his first senior try and there were also tries from Martin Thompson, Finn McGregor and Conor Stephens, with youngster Zac Hand converting three from four.

But Ramsey hit back with tries from Ben Hardman, Josh Corteen and Conor Cracknell, with Tom Moffatt converting two leaving his side trailing by seven points at the break.

A yellow card for Nomads early in the second half left them with some defending to do and the thin green line worked hard to keep Ramsey out.

But hooker Hardman did find the try line for the second time in the game and Moffatt’s conversion left the match tied at 26-26 with 20 minutes left to play at Mooragh Park.

In the final quarter of an hour, the home side were able to run in three unanswered tries to close the game out.

The returning Jake Severs bagged one, Moffatt the second and Braden Roche the third, with Moffatt adding one extra conversion.

In the other semi-final holders New Brighton just squeezed past Hoylake 14-12 to set up a repeat of last year’s final against Ramsey on a date yet to be fixed.

DAVE CHRISTIAN

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