THE UK leagues take a back seat in rugby this weekend as all attention turns to the Bernard Schulte Ship Management (BSM) Manx Cup and two contrasting semi-finals which are virtually a repeat of last season.
At Ballafletcher, Sure Vagabonds host Southern Nomads.
Vagas won last season’s encounter 47-14 and will be looking for a similar result this time around.
Nomads, however, have had two great results in the Cheshire Plate and indeed play in the final on Easter Saturday, so they’ll be hoping to show that they’ve developed over the last 12 months.
Vagas were solid last week in their league encounter with Moore.
The weather conditions made life difficult but Vagas played a tight game that suited and picked up a bonus point in the process.
They’re likely to start with an unchanged team from last week but if the game does open out a little, they might just take their foot off the pedal and try and save some of their players for the following week’s league match.
Nomads haven’t had a game in a fortnight so should be well rested. Their last outing was a friendly against Ramsey B which they won comfortably and in reality probably didn’t help with their preparation for this game.
A key area is likely to be the front five. Vagas were very powerful last week against Moore.
Luke Purdy has slotted into the front row as if he’s always been there and the second row of Mark Howarth and Chris Neill were both strong and athletic.
Nomads must aim for scrum parity at least. If they start getting shoved off their own scrum ball they will be living off scraps.
In the other semi-final, Douglas host Ramsey at Port-e-Chee.
This game was played at Mooragh Park last season with Ramsey 26-8 winners. League form this time around is very, very different.
Douglas are up in the promotion places while Ramsey are struggling just above the relegation zone after a large number of close-season personnel changes.
The league match at the Mooragh this season was, however, very close and a late penalty for Douglas only just earned them a draw. This all makes for a fascinating clash this time around.
Both sides prefer to play a running style game and with Port-e-Chee likely to be a little on the soft side, I suspect the team that adapts quickest will win.
Douglas played on it last week so they must start as favourites. Ramsey had an enforced week off so they perhaps may be slightly fresher.
Both sides are likely to be missing their first choice stand offs. Douglas’ Bryn Snellgrove has gone off travelling and Ramsey’s Fintan Cummins is recovering from surgery.
News has come through that Douglas skipper Ryan Maddox has chosen to rest some players after their massive performance beating fellow table-toppers Ruskin Park last week.
The idea is to name some development players who have impressed with the club’s second string, who themselves are pushing for domestic honours, giving them much-needed experience if called upon in the final few games of the season.
This has meant a complete back row and front row shuffle from last week’s victory, while in the backline only Maddox himself, Will Latta, Paul Lievers and Conor McCaughan remain in position with usual fullback Scott Goodall coming in for Mike Hebden at fly-half and three of the Douglas youth rounding off the backs.
This could be a gamble but the 2E2-sponsored side will be looking for players to stake a claim for first-team places for the remainder of the season against a tough Ramsey outfit.
Both matches are intriguing for different reasons, however, the outcomes based on current form at least, should be no surprise and I suspect we’ll see Douglas versus Vagabonds in the April 28 final.
SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
BSM Manx Cup Semi-Finals ko 2.15pm
Vagabonds v Southern Nomads @ Ballafletcher
Douglas v Ramsey @ Port-e-Chee