Douglas are champions!

Douglas, for so long the dominant team in EuroManx South Lancashire/Cheshire Division Three, were crowned champions on Saturday with a 27-7 win over Parkonians.

The visitors took an early lead when second row Mike Byrne crashed over for a try in the fourth minute, converted by stand-off Terry Williams.

However, Douglas hit back straightaway with a try from their second rower Mark McGee.

Andy Hollis’ 16th minute try put the hosts in front 10-7 and a Bryn Snellgrove penalty extended that lead to 13-7 at half-time.

Nine minutes into the second half Douglas full back Andy Jones punched through the Parkonians defence to push the lead to 18-7 and Snellgrove’s conversion added another two points to make the game pretty much safe at 20-7.

Fittingly for the champions, Douglas had one last shot in the locker.

Number eight Niall Killey stole a Parkonians line out 40 metres from the try line and powered his way through some slack tackling for a fine solo try to round off the afternoon.

Snellgrove’s almost inevitable conversion completed the scoring making the final result 27-7.

After the game, Douglas’s stand in skipper Ben Dutnall praised the attitude and commitment of the young players in his squad, without whom, he said, they couldn’t have achieved so much.

And he vowed they would all be needed again next season to meet the challenges in Division Two.