News

Douglas get their wings clipped by the Eagles.

Monday, 10 December 2012 09:30

2e2 Douglas rugby club were beaten for only the second time this season on saturday away at Oswestry going down 20 -12.

The game started and Douglas were enjoying the territory but were not making any meaningful breaks and a few handling errors were allowing Oswestry to clear their lines. Douglas kept knocking at the door and had the ball went to the hands of Callum Carine it may well have been different. Instead Oswestry spun the ball to their left winger who broke two tackles to touch down in the corner. Douglas still pressured Oswestry and it was apparent that they had one escape clause and this was the left winger as he repeared the same trick again. It turns out that this will be the wingers last appearance this year as he takes up his contract with North Wales Crusaders and the Welsh national rugby league team.

The second half was a different tale, Douglas cut out the errors and still dominated the territory but were lacking that cutting edge. They would come close to the breakthrough and an error or turnover allowed Oswestry to clear. 20 minutes to go and finally Douglas were starting to show glimpses of what they had. A chip through was chased by Callum Carine who tackled the winger a yard from the try line and Callum touched the ball down for it to be chalked off for reasons unknown.

Oswestry then had an attack in the Douglas 22 and some confusion in the centres allowed the opposition 13 to run through and score. Douglas were not down nor were they out. Pride came to the fore, some good kicking allowed the Douglas forwards the field position to execute some rolling mauls, some cynical collapsing took place and despite 2 warnings the prop remained on the pitch, much to the bemusement of skipper Scott 'Hollywood' Goodall. But not to be defeated Douglas went again and this time touched down, but it was to be chalked off once more. The groans were deafening. Oswestry cleared the lines and the Douglas pack came again, this time they got the try, third time lucky as the saying goes. Daryn Thompson at it again.

The last 10 minutes was all Douglas, there was a deliberate knock on by the opposition and Douglas felt aggrieved as twice this season they have had players binned for such offences and it didnt happen. With the final play some great bullocking runs drew the defence in the ball was spun wide and Stephen Tansell was able to flop over the line to score and put some pride in the shirt. Douglas definitely did not go down without a fight. There is a strong sense of injustice at Port e Chee this week, some questionnable decisions and disallowed tries hampered Douglas and a winger who is of national standard made the difference for an Oswestry side who didnt look threatening without him on the ball.

Douglas will have to pick themselves back up and dust themselves down as next week is another trek to the peak district to play Buxton.

Douglas have passports at the ready

Friday, 07 December 2012 16:03

2E2 Douglas rugby club make the long trip to the welsh border to visit Oswestry this weekend in South Lancs/Cheshire division 2. Oswestry have not lost at home this season and Douglas only have one blot to their season thus far so we are in for a good match.

These two sides both narrowly missed out on promotion last year and the two fixtures last season were played in good spirit and there was good rugby on show. Oswestry are currently mid table and Douglas are near the top however statistics can be misleading. Oswestry are similar in style to Douglas in that they have a mobile pack and a quick back line.

There aren’t too many changes to the Douglas team this week and hopefully they will be firing on all cylinders. In the pack Glyn Hooson-Owen should shake off a hamstring niggle to bolster the second row with either Paul Leivers or the try and assist machine Daryn Thompson. Craig Lea and James Lidgett are also in contention this week together with Nick Horsthuis. This presents skipper Goodall with plenty of selection headaches and different combinations.

In the backline Douglas will be missing Niall Killey in the centres, however Andy Corris should have recovered from his lacerated ear to fill the void. The rest of the back line is much the same with Goodall likely to line up at 12 and Simon Heggs start at full back.

Douglas will hope that their strong travelling contingent will do the job and bring back the points but Oswestry from experience do not roll over and with their home record in tact are not going to give Douglas their own way. Douglas showed signs against Wallasey of what they can do and hopefully this team can click once again come the weekend in what will be a good game of expansive rugby.

Douglas bounce back at Ballafletcher

Monday, 26 November 2012 09:39

2E2 Douglas rugby club got back to winning ways on Saturday with a 49 - 15 win over wallasey at Ballafletcher on Saturday with port e chee suffering after the rain.

Douglas set out to avenge last weeks defeat and on 15 minutes after a try by Niall Killey and a Bryn Snellgrove penalty and conversion Douglas were 10 nil up.

Snellgrove slotted another penalty and Wallasey sprung into life. Some good forwards play allowed their centre to crash over.

Douglas then strung together some good phases and when speedster Callum Carine was offered the outside he accepted and raced in for the try. Half time 18 - 10.

Douglas started the second half with a little more purpose than the first and were starting to build the phases. Eventually enough space was crafted for Snellgrove to glide through an touch down which was converted.

Wallasey then battled their way back into it and eventually they created an overlap in Douglas 22 and scored to keep the game in the balance.

Then Callum Carine struck, he was again afforded the outside and scored 3 more tries in quick succession when he simply outpaced his opposite number which added gloss to the scoreline.

That wasn't it for Douglas, Nick Horsthuis had been on the pitch a matter of minutes when he picked off the base of the scrum to race in from the 10 metre line.

Final score 49 - 15. Much better this week from Douglas. They stuck to their task throughout and got a deserved result against a good Wallasey side who I think will be a good match for any team with their physicality and hard running.

A job well done Douglas!

Douglas outgunned by Sefton.

Monday, 19 November 2012 08:42

2E2 Douglas rugby club were beaten for the first time on Saturday by Sefton.

The game started well for Douglas with Daryn Thompson touching down and Bryn Snellgrove adding a penalty. Sefton replied with two tries if their own to take the lead 12 - 8, but before the break Calkum Carine rounded his opposite number for a 13 - 12 half time lead.

The second half Sefton started brighter and wrestled the lead from Douglas to go 17 - 13 ahead. Soon after Douglas slumped for 10 minutes and were punished by a clinical Sefton team. 4 well executed tries down the left wing in 10 minutes killed Douglas.

It was a tough day for Douglas and Sefton showed why they are top. They were ruthless when they exposed Douglas.

The measure of a good team however is how they bounce back from adversity. One thing Douglas will do for sure is bounce back. There were some positives from the game despite the scoreline and Douglas will right the wrongs in training and will be back next week when they welcome Wallasey to Port e Chee.

The lads must keep their chins up, losing to league leaders is no bad thing. All get down training and put everything right and get back on track!

Douglas Visit the Sefton Gunners

Monday, 19 November 2012 08:42

2E2 Douglas Rugby Club travel to West Derby this weekend to face table toppers Sefton in South Lancs/Cheshire division 2.

At this early stage in the season both teams boast 100% records with Sefton having claimed one more bonus point than Douglas which is what separates both sides in the standings. There are many clichés that fit with this match, clash of the titans and somethings got to give to name a few but come Saturday one thing this match won’t be is stereotypical.

The two sides going into Saturday are actually based on previous years fairly evenly matched in terms of how they structure their game and how they like to play rugby, so a fast open game of rugby is on the cards, should the weather be on side this weekend.

Douglas have made a few tactical changes for this week but by and large the starting 15 has remained intact. Ben Pote travels up from Uni to bolster the front row options, Carl Markl-Ferns returns from injury and Andy Evans has made himself available in the centres.

The skipper has made sure that Douglas stay grounded this season and so far so good, they have come through so far unscathed. This weekend Douglas however must turn up with the intensity that was there at the old firm clash two weeks ago when Douglas clicked for the first 20 minutes. When they clicked all the hard work came to the fore and this is what Douglas now aim towards, the bar has been set.

Sefton will certainly have a lot to do with the outcome of Saturdays game and over the seasons these two sides have been pretty close in terms of results and scorelines. I expect much the same this weekend. If Douglas click again they will really be a match for this free scoring Sefton side, but first up is to stunt the Sefton attack. With Douglas boasting best defence and Sefton most potent attack, this will be an interesting match.

Douglas have a few spectators coming to watch the boys this weekend which will be something new for Douglas and a win would be fandabydozy.