Vagabonds RUFC finally bagged their first win of the season by beating Orrell 26-16 at a chilly Ballafletcher on Saturday thanks to a dominant second-half performance after trailing 16-5 at the break.

Two penalties inside the first 15 minutes from Orrell scrum-half Craig Thomas gave the visitors a 6-0 lead.

In the 17th minute Vagas presented their guests with a welcome gift. A promising Orrell attack had been successfully repelled and, when the ball was turned over, Vagas sensed a long-range counter-attack was viable and they attempted to run from deep inside their own 22.

But the ball was fumbled and Orrell’s Dan Huxley was on hand to retrieve the dropped ball and stroll in to score.

Three minutes later, Orrell struck a hammer blow. A midfield thrust from the restart was recycled quickly and fed down the backline where big second row Joe Hamilton was lurking as an extra man.

He galloped through the defence to score and stretch the lead out to 16-0 and start to test the faith of the most faithful of the Ballafletcher crowd.

Vagas responded from the restart though. The kick was gathered on the full by a charging Tom Gascoyne who timed his run perfectly and didn’t need to break stride. This provided Vagas with some good attacking field position and they set up camp a few yards shy of the five-metre line.

An attacking scrum failed to cross but Vagas retained possession and, after two attempts at pick-and-go drives, prop Mitch Wells was finally shunted over by his pack. The conversion was missed and, when half-time arrived, Vagas trailed 16-5.

Whatever coach Franzy Germishuys said at half-time clearly worked: Vagas came out of the blocks for the second half with a real sense of purpose. They went straight to the Orrell red zone and earned a penalty.

Cam Findlay tapped it quickly and he found Tom Gascoyne running a straight line and there was no stopping him from short range. Findlay added the conversion to make it a four-point game at 12-16.

It took almost another half hour of pressure before Vagas got the break they needed. Matty Jones and Archie Benson had both gone close but an under-pressure defence left Orrell very narrow.

Dan Bonwick spotted this and floated a long pass to Cal Donnell. He drew the last defender and sent Nathan Wyllie in for the try and the Vagas lead. Findlay converted from out wide to make it 19-16.

With the Vagabonds engine now firing on all cylinders, they pressed forward for the fourth try and the bonus point.

Gascoyne capped of an excellent personal performance with another big carry into the Orrell half. He had support which meant quick ball and this was shipped wide for Jon Reilly to score.

Findlay again converted from out wide and with only two minutes remaining Orrell were unable to respond.

Early in the second half, Vagas lost Mitch Wells. A huge collision left him with injuries to back, neck and knee. He is now home following a short trip to Noble’s and will be out of action for a little while.

Best wishes to Mitch from everyone involved in Isle of Man rugby for a full and speedy recovery.

Nomads win friendly

There was a friendly game at Mooragh Park and Southern Nomads walked away with the bragging rights and a 34-31 win.

Tony Quinn picked up two tries and there were also scores from Finn McGregor, John Dutnall, Dick Seed and Mike Craine with Mark Young converting two.

Josh Corteen, Jared May, Conor Goodall, Will Millsop and Sam Kennaugh all crossed for Ramsey. Tom Moffatt converted two and Scott Kneale one.

Results

Saturday, January 11:

Regional Two North West

Douglas 0-17 Sandbach

Counties Three ADM Lancs/Cheshire

Vagabonds 26-16 Orrell

Friendly

Ramsey 31-34 PDMS Southern Nomads

DAVE CHRISTIAN