Oldham are the visitors at Ballafletcher this weekend as Vagabonds Rugby Club's men's side look to bounce back from last week’s away defeat in Counties Three ADM Lancashire/Cheshire.

The Lancashire side won 45-17 in the corresponding fixture last season on their way to a fifth-place finish in phase one of the league, with nine wins from 13 games. They couldn’t continue though and only won two in the second phase.

While Vagas toiled at Clitheroe last Saturday, Oldham were beaten 34-23 at home by Dukinfield which suggests they may be on Vagas’ radar as a possible win.

But the Manx team had some problems last week. They lost Archie Benson and George Hotchkiss early on to injury: the two were paired in the 10 and 12 jerseys, and losing a crucial partnership like that could pose an issue.

Vagas do have the luxury of skipper Dan Bonwick in their back row and he is as adept in the 10 jersey as he is at eight, which may give them some comfort if Benson doesn’t recover.

The Vagas tight five looks solid with Messrs Louw, Rockwell and De Oliveira providing a stable front row and, should problems arise in the backline, they can always switch to a more forward-orientated game to compensate.

The league’s first round of results suggests the big boys will be Burnley, Bury and perhaps Ashton-under-Lyne, so picking off winnable games like this is a must if Vagas want to challenge.

FIXTURES

Saturday, October 3:

Regional Two North West

Douglas v Burnage @ Port-e-Chee ko 3pm

Counties Three ADM Lancashire/Cheshire

Vagabonds v Oldham @ Ballafletcher ko 2pm

Hartford Homes Manx Shield

Douglas Celts v Southern Nomads @ Port-e-Chee ko 2.15pm

- Reports from Saturday’s matches will appear in next week’s edition of the Isle of Man Examiner, on sale Tuesday morning.

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