Douglas Rugby club were once again victorious in their last match, this time against visiting team, Altrincham Kersal.
Tries from Kyle Martin and Sam McCord and two conversions from Luke Hyland may have clinched a gripping 14-0 Regional Two North West encounter at Port-e-Chee, but the groundwork was set by league-topping defence and resilience up front.
Altrincham Kersal laid siege in the opening 10 minutes, aided by a breeze at their backs, but had nothing to show when Douglas finally broke upfield.
Douglas Rugby Club
Front-row man Jack Loughnane, making a welcome return from injury, alongside Rob Todd and London Marathon trainee Simon Hoddinott in the front row gave Douglas a slight edge in the tight, but not until the 33rd minute was the stalemate broken.
Douglas back-rowers Liam Kirkpatrick and Angus Wheeler had a hand in driving forward, Conor Garland and skipper Blake Snell muscled on, and scrum-half Martin ripped through near the posts for Hyland to convert.
AK upped the pressure, conscious of a second-half wind disadvantage to come, but Douglas flanker James Good nipped AK drives in the bud, and fullback Brett Pyke, another injury returnee, dealt flawlessly when AK chose the aerial route.
After the break
Douglas coach Phil Cringle brought Oli Corkish in to the fray for Loughnane at the break, and Martin and Hyland began to turn the territorial screw from the boot.
One monster off Hyland’s right foot was of perfect length, and once winger Cal Dentith and centre Luca Simmons tied up AK defenders, McCord thundered through for Hyland to add the extras.
John Dutnall and Ralph Clarke brought fresh Douglas legs in as AK struck a purple patch, and it needed solid Douglas hits to keep hooker Chris Moncur at bay.
AK captain number 8 Sam Dauncey kept the visiting fires burning, but one sublime offload from Martin, having his best showing to date, nearly produced a third Douglas score.
Surging, bruising runs from Todd and again from Garland couldn’t breach the AK line, and Snell incurred a late yellow as referee Lewis Johnson decided things were getting too fractious.
Man of the match performances from Martin, Garland and Hyland stood out, and Douglas equal their 2019-20 run of five wins on the bounce in seven seasons at level 6 rugby.
Match report by Tony Wilson-Spratt
Douglas Squad: Simon Hoddinott, Rob Todd, Jack Loughnane, Liam Kirkpatrick, Connor Garland, James Good, Angus Wheeler, Blake Snell (cap), Kyle Martin, Luke Hyland, Cal Dentith, Luca Simmons, Sam McCord, Wilf Kermode, John Dutnall, Oli Cornish, Ralph Clarke
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