Depleted Douglas begin away double at Winnington Park

Douglas RUFC travel to Winnington Park on Saturday, 17 October, for round four of Regional Two North West. It is the first of two away fixtures in a row for the Manx club.

The hosts have had a difficult start, according to Isle of Man Today. They have lost all three of their league games so far, and a try bonus point at home to Burnage is their only reward.

Form favours the visitors. Winnington Park were heavily beaten at Northwich in the last round. Douglas, by contrast, pulled away from Burnage with seven tries after the sides were separated by a point, 20-19, at half-time.

Douglas also hold the edge in past league meetings between the clubs, with eight wins to Winnington Park’s six.

Selection has been disrupted, however. Skipper Simon Hoddinott remains injured, second row Blake Snell is unavailable, and John Dutnall and Ralph Clarke will also miss the game. That gives Kudzai Chenda, Callum Clague, Cal Dentith and Mark Oldfield the chance to stake a claim in the pack.

In the backs, Luke Parry could start again, and Josh Duncan is back. Isle of Man Today said the three-quarters would be keen to show that their performance against Burnage was more than a home-ground one-off.

The paper singled out Wilf Kermode and Craig Martin as playing their best rugby so far. It said Sam McCord and winger Oli Corkish profit from the distribution of fly-half Matty Wood. Full-back Kyle Martin was credited with the ability to break defences open. Scrum-half Jonty Shimmin, guided by captain Harry Cartwright at number eight, was described as a promising player still developing.

Isle of Man Today’s assessment was that the number of changes, combined with playing away, makes the trip a tough test for Douglas, though one they can come through.