Rugby: Vagabonds men's and ladies to start new seasons

Douglas on the road and Ramsey face Vikings in Manx Shield

Report by Dave Christian:

Vagabonds men and Ladies both start their 26/27 seasons with away trips - the men head to Clitheroe in Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire while the Ladies visit Didsbury TOC H in Womens NC North (West).

Vagabonds men have been training hard since July and if social media references are reliable, they seem to be having fun too. 

They were on the up at the tail end of last season and this coupled with fun summer training suggests that they could well be competitive in Counties 3.

Clitheroe will be a good test for them - the Lancashire side finished 25/26 in the top half of the standings and ended up in what was called the Major Conference. 

They were bottom of this however and lost six out of six. 

Vagabonds have met them twice before and lost both, the margins aren’t massive though and a spirited 'Vagas' side could pick up some points here.

With the exception of Cam Findlay who moved away, Vagabonds have retained their core players - Dan Bonwick will lead the side for another season, although from which position is anyone’s guess; Reece De Oliveira will anchor the scrummage and Cal Donnell will provide some midfield punch. 

Away games are always difficult but Vagabonds have the players to make an early impression.

Vagasbonds Ladies find themselves in a new league this season but this is simply down to a restructure and there doesn’t appear to be any new opposition. 

That said, this is now a ten-team league meaning a total of 18 fixtures and should be a test for squad depth.

Vagabonds were just a couple of results shy of promotion last season and with Sammie Macdonald again leading the team, they could go one better. 

Bea O’Neill and Freya Crowe were the star players last season but they probably missed Maylyn Campbell who should return this season; additionally, Isla Curphey has now returned and her Womens Premier league experience will undoubtedly have a big effect.

Didsbury and Vagas have met six times previously with Didsbury winning all six, this season could break that streak.

Douglas on the road at Birkenhead Park

After last week's home defeat, Douglas head to Birkenhead Park for round two of Regional 2 North West. 

This was a happy hunting ground for them least season with a 32-24 win on the road, but in the overall stats Birkenhead Park are eight-three ahead in previous meetings.

Douglas lost scrum half Nathan Robson last week with a nasty leg injury in warm up, he has had successful surgery on his lower leg but faces a long spell on the sidelines while he recovers. 

Craig Martin filled in at nine last week and won a man of the match award too so he’s looking like a great replacement.

The set scrum worked well last week and with operators like Matty Wood outside the forwards, set piece success is vital. 

Douglas are capable of bouncing back from last week’s defeat but Birkenhead Park may not be the place for it.

Western Vikings host Ramsey in Hartford Homes Manx Shield

There’s just the one game in the Manx Shield this week and its at QEII where Vikings host Ramsey. 

Both sides have lost their opening games, Vikings to Nomads and Ramsey to Douglas Celts, which means that this week, one side will get rid of the proverbial monkey.

Vikings were well beaten by Nomads in their curtain raiser but did show flashes of inspiration - Ed Knight and Jack Goodwin both impressed with the ball in hand and Tom Randall was also solid. 

Ramsey will however be probably too strong - skipper, Josh Corteen partnered with Matt Meechan in the back row are a proper handful and youngster, Dan Kelly from either scrum half or full back, can turn a game with a single pass or kick. 

This is on paper a Ramsey win.

**

FIXTURES

Saturday, 26 September 2026

Regional 2 North West

Birkenhead Park vs Douglas (2pm KO @ Birkenhead Park)

Counties 3 ADM Lancashire/Cheshire

Clitheroe vs Vagabonds (12pm KO @ Clitheroe)

Women's NC North (West)

Didsbury Toc H vs Vagabonds Ladies (12.30pm KO @ Didsbury)

Hartford Homes Manx Shield 

Western Vikings vs Ramsey (2.15pm KO @ QEII)