Rugby: Vagabonds and Bury triple-header this weekend

Men's, ladies and junior sides to face each other at Ballafletcher

Report by Dave Christian:

Vagabonds face a tough test at home this Saturday in Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire when third place Bury come to town. 

Vagas were winless after six games so far and are twelfth place, in comparison Bury’s record is 100 per cent - they’ve played five, won five and picked up five bonus points too, they only sit in third by virtue of having played one game less than the top two.

Worthy of note is beating Fleetwood back in September and Vagas shipping over sixty points at Fleetwood a fortnight ago.

This game however should be a little different, for starters its at Ballafletcher and the usual travel difficulties may affect the Bury travelling squad. 

Vagas should also have a better chance of getting their full squad out too, they struggled at Fleetwood especially after suffering some early forced changes. 

On home turf they could be different and in fact they’ll have to be, Bury have conceded just 74 points in five matches and have the tightest defence in the league. 

The other availability issue could be the England New Zealand game at Twickenham which is always a draw for rugby aficionados including players.

The Vagas home strength has been in the front five - Mitch Wells and Joe Louw are a formidable combination at prop and Matt Rockwell offers massive commitment at hooker. 

Ryan Pope and Jon Ferguson have worked well in the second row and around the park too; With quality set piece ball playmaker Daniel Bonwick should have some space to work his magic; Regan Williams and Joe Louw both guested for Western Vikings last week and bagged three tries between them so are clearly showing the kind of form Vagas need to pick up their first win.

Historically the two have only met twice previously and with the stat sheet showing one win apiece, there’s plenty of incentive to put in a good showing.

Vagas Ladies also facing Bury

In a rather unique inter-club double, Vagabonds Ladies also host Bury at Ballafletcher on Saturday in Womens NC2 North (South). 

Their task however doesn’t look as daunting as that facing the men, in the ladies league Bury have played two and lost two while Vagas are one from three and sitting in third spot in the standings. 

Both have lost to Winnington Park however Bury’s loss came at home which suggests this could be Vagas day.

Vagas’ big guns return this week too - Sammie Macdonald returns at nine, Becky Dunne at ten with Lauren Ellison and Jules Harrison also returning in the back line. 

None of these were available for the trip to Winnington Park where Vagas scored six tries despite losing, if the full pack of forwards is available too, they should be tough to crack.

The two sides haven’t met previously in league competition so there’s no history to use as a benchmark. 

Vagas have however been working hard on their defensive line since Winnington Park and with home advantage and a big crowd, they’ll be well up for this game.

**

Fixtures

Saturday, 2 November 2024

Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire

Vagabonds v Bury @ Ballafletcher (1.45pm KO)

Womens NC2 North (South)

Vagabonds v Bury @ Ballafletcher (12.45pm KO)

Friendly U15

Vagabonds v Bury @ Ballafletcher (12pm KO)

Sunday, 3 November 2024

Friendly U15

Ramsey v Bury @ Mooragh Park (11am KO)