The domestic rugby season comes to a close this Saturday with the finals of the Manx Cup and Plate competitions which are both at Ramsey’s Mooragh Park.  

The Plate final between Southern Nomads and Vagabonds is the warm-up game at 1pm, with the Cup final between Ramsey and Douglas kicking off at 3pm. 

The Plate on paper should be a Vagabonds win. They beat Nomads 53-0 recently in their Cup qualifying game but just 12 months ago Nomads pulled off a surprise 33-10 win in the 2023 Plate final.  

Things can and do change in a year though. Vagas has a solid run in Counties Four ADM Lancs/Cheshire, while Nomads appear to have gone off the boil a little. A shot at retaining their plate may give them a little boost. 

The Vagas tight five should take charge up front. Mitch Wells and Jon Ferguson have had solid seasons for Vagas and, if Joe Louw returns, they’ll be a real handful.  

Nomads’ strength probably lies a little further back with halfbacks Callister and Young plus Tony Quinn’s speed. They’ll struggle with little or no ball through and I suspect the Vagas forwards will strangle their possession. 

If it’s anything like last week, the Manx Cup final could be a belter. Douglas dominated the opening half 31-7 but the second half scoreline was only 24-17, with Ramsey coming back into what was a brutal game.  

Douglas will be missing Jack Laughnane who has returned to New Zealand and Shay Waterworth was rested last week with a niggle but could return.  

Ramsey will still be without Eddie Lord who won’t be fit for the final but have crossed fingers for Joey Callow and Brandon Atchison who both left the field with knocks last week. 

Blake Snell and Sam McCord were both excellent for Douglas in their 55-24 win last Saturday and Ramsey will struggle to contain them, but have had a good first-hand look at what is needed to win.  

The set piece held firm-ish but some unforced errors allowed Douglas in and the Port-e-Chee side is so well organised that gaps to exploit with the ball in hand were few and far between. 

The Manx Cup has Douglas’ name written all over it but nonetheless it is a Cup final and, with a fair wind, Ramsey are capable of a better result than the previous outing. 

Fixtures 

Saturday, April 27: 

Under-16s friendly  

Ramsey v Hoylake @ Mooragh Park ko 10am 

Manx Plate final 

PDMS Southern Nomads v Vagabonds @ Mooragh Park ko 1pm 

Manx Cup Final 

Ramsey v Douglas @ Mooragh Park ko 3pm 

DAVE CHRISTIAN