A 6am start from Eastham with only 16 travelling players this was going to be a tough day if Saints were to claim a victory and they were made to fight all the way by their hosts.
Douglas had kindly agreed to an early kick off to suit the visitor’s travel plans, so following a hearty breakfast on the island at the nearby Abbey restaurant, Saints arrived in good time. The pitch, whilst on the heavy side, had plenty of grass on it with no standing water and kick off was at 1.15pm.
Saints started brightly and took an early lead after six minutes when Jon Bonner broke from the ruck on the Douglas 22 and dabbed down between the sticks, an easy two points for Dai and the visitors were seven points to the good.
Douglas equalized on 15 minutes following good play in midfield crafting a gap for their centre to cross 7-7.
Another excellent line out day for Saints was beginning to once again provide the platform for the Saints pack to kick to the corners and look for lineout opportunities, Fred came up with the ball from a driving maul on 20 minutes and powered over to give the lead back to Saints 7-12.
Saints were now looking to turn the screw and build a decent lead and on the half-hour mark Ewan Nolan found space in the midfield to exploit and go over to bring the score up to 7-17.
On 35 minutes the home side infringed on the edge of their 22 by straying off side, the decision was taken to keep the scoreboard ticking and take the easy three points on offer 7-20 and Saints were looking to get to half time.
Unfortunately, Douglas had other ideas and managed to fashion a converted try on the stroke of half time 14-20 and all to play for in the second half.
Again Saints started the half brightly and it was Fred that went over for his second try of the day on 44 mins to take the score to 14-25 and secure a four try bonus point.
The 16th man was called upon on 57 minutes and Saints had the bare bones for the last 23 minutes.
Douglas went in on the 68th minute when their 10 ran a good support line off the centre and took a short ball in the tackle to touch down under the posts and bring the scores to a nail-biting 21-25.
Saints have shown their resilience on a few occasions this season but this game would test their resolve not least because the bench was empty and the Douglas fans were baying for a home victory.
The away side remained patient and continued to kick intelligently into the corners and play in the opposition 22.
On 77 minutes after good pressure and ball retention, Will Grabe in his unfamiliar position of scrum half managed to scramble over the line, Dai duly converted and the final score was 21-32.
A massive effort from the 16 lads who all to a man left nothing out on the pitch.
Douglas deserved something, a bonus point would have been a fair reflection as they played their part in a good game played largely in the right spirit. The post-match hospitality as always was first class from Douglas as was the journey home.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/- | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anselmians | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 543 | 205 | 338 | 13 | 2 | 67 |
| 2 | Bowdon | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 473 | 345 | 128 | 11 | 0 | 59 |
| 3 | Rochdale | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 428 | 271 | 157 | 10 | 3 | 57 |
| 4 | Firwood Waterloo | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 439 | 313 | 126 | 9 | 3 | 52 |
| 5 | Birkenhead Park | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 456 | 300 | 156 | 9 | 2 | 51 |
| 6 | Glossop | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 355 | 381 | -26 | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| 7 | Vale of Lune | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 273 | 364 | -91 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| 8 | Altrincham Kersal | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 305 | 347 | -42 | 8 | 4 | 32 |
| 9 | Douglas (I.O.M.) | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 307 | 452 | -145 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| 10 | Winnington Park | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 327 | 520 | -193 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| 11 | Wilmslow | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 253 | 431 | -178 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 12 | Broughton Park | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 209 | 439 | -230 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
Douglas (I.O.M.)
15 Kyle Martin
14 Brendan Kelly
13 Aidan O’Shea
12 Jack Shimmin
11 Harry Hewson
10 Bradley Bowmar
9 Luke Hyland
1 Simon Hoddinott
2 Robert Todd
3 Owen Carvin
4 Conor Garland
5 Ralph Clarke
6 John Dutnall
7 Sam McCord
8 Craig Mcgee
Douglas (I.O.M.) Subs
S1 David Sherwin
S2 Philip Cringle
S3 Bryn Snellgrove
Anselmians
15 Adam Bramhall
14 Joel Ashton
13 Ewan Nolan
12 Ransford Otutaha
11 Thomas Gilbert
10 David Morley
9 William Grabe
1 Kostja Vezanovs
2 Daniel Salisbury
3 Derek Salisbury
4 Jack Richards
5 Samuel Gregory
6 Jack Sanders
7 Jonathan Bonner
8 Fred Clark
Anselmians Subs
S1 Robert O’Donnell
S2 Robert O’Donnell
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