Nomads and Vikings to meet in Manx Shield at QEII
The first match of the new Manx rugby season takes place today with Southern Nomads and Western Vikings facing off in the Hartford Homes Manx Shield.
Today's match at QEII gets underway at 2.15pm whilst three other Island clubs still have to wait until their own campaigns are allowed to begin.
Having all previously been due to start their seasons today, Douglas, Vagabonds and Vagabonds Ladies' respective opening matches were postponed until Saturday, 25 September.
This is due to a decision by England RFU to push back the start for many of their leagues due to unsafe pitch conditions caused by the recent, prolonged hot and dry weather in the UK.
Manx Radio's rugby correspondent, Dave Christian explains why the Manx Shield game is able to go ahead in spite of this:
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