A potentially tricky rescheduled home tie saw Douglas RUFC move up to seventh in Regional Two North West with a six-try bonus point win at Port-e-Chee against Eccles on Saturday.

Although languishing at the foot of the table, margins are narrow and results showed the Manchester side were still a force to be reckoned with.

Douglas fielded a slightly re-jigged team, with John Dutnall, Ralph Clarke and Nathan Robson returning, and it was the hosts who powered away from the start.

Inside three minutes Kyle Martin blazed away on the right wing and Robson converted for a 7-0 lead.

Martin repeated the feat in the ninth minute, chasing a kick ahead to touch down wide out for 12-0.

Charlie Henthorn went off injured to be replaced by Bryn Snellgrove and full-back Jonty Cope finished off midfield work from James Ross and Harry Hewson for a 15th-minute try, converted by Robson.

Eccles finally fired a shot in anger when centre Byron Read plunged through near the posts for 19-7, then undid the good work with a yellow card for offside.

Hewson captured ball at the breakdown, Douglas hooker Gihard Visagie charged over for the bonus-point try after solid lineout and maul work from the pack. After Robson’s conversion and 37th-minute penalty, Douglas led 29-7 at the break.

Owen Carvin and Conor Garland emptied the bench, Harry Cartwright piled on Eccles agony in the 50th-minute for 36-7, only for ex-Sefton winger Tim Balogun to race through a half-conscious defence and score under the posts 36-14.

Liam Kirkpatrick’s yellow card yielded more Eccles pressure, lock Martin Coop going closest to breaking the thin maroon and gold line, before Cope became hero and villain inside five minutes.

He scored a scintillating, converted by Robson, only to be yellow-carded for an illegal tackle as Eccles winger Gavin Johnson was heading for the line and concede a penalty try.

Man of the match Hewson had the last laugh with yet another turnover and Douglas now contemplate catching Altrincham Kersal in sixth.

TONY WILSON-SPRATT