Ramsey Secure Bowl Victory

Ramsey overcame a determined Western Vikings to run out 25-7 winners in the final of the Shimmin Wilson Manx Bowl.

Ramsey's Gareth Hoosen-Owen and Vikings' George Gadsby both missed penalty kicks in the opening quarter as Ramsey enjoyed the bulk of possession but were unable to convert the pressure into points. It was not until the twenty second minute that they finally unlocked the Vikings defence. Sean Wylie broke free down the centre and as the ball was recycled and spun left, Ramsey skipper Matt Livesey danced over in the corner to put his team 5-0 in front.

Wing Stu McConnell doubled the northerner's advantage five minutes later. Flanker Chris Kneale set up good ball in the middle of the park and with the Ramsey backs caught up in the move it was left to the unlikely centre partnership of Will Moffatt and Dave Harding to ship the ball wide and fast. This they did and nippy winger McConnell ran the score home.

McConnell picked up his second with the last play of the first half. Vikings were penalised in midfield and Ramsey opted to kick for the corner. They won the line out and the ball was fired down the back line for McConnell to scuttle over in the corner to leave it 15-0 at the break.

The heavens opened for the second half and the game became a bit of a slugging match in the forwards. Vikings had the better restart and for the opening few minutes they enjoyed possession and territory. Scrum half Rob McAleer was however getting slow scrappy ball and found it difficult to release his backs. Lee Dillon had half a chance but the ball was knocked on in the slippery conditions.

As the Vikings revival began to run out of steam, Ramsey hit back on the break. Garry Vernon hit the line at pace and his arrival created space for young flanker James Robinson to slide over and extend the lead to 20-0. The try of the game came however from the player of the game, Ramsey's Chris Kneale. Promising youngster Will Keenan powered his way down the left wing and when he ran out of gas, Kneale was alongside at full speed to take the scoring pass and touch down under the posts.

It was Vikings though who had the final say. James Wrenn and Joe Whitelegg both on from the bench made an immediate difference to their side. And it was Whitelegg's downfield punt which gave them the try the deserved. He spotted the Ramsey defence was up and kicked behind them. Lee Dillon recovered the ball and beat two tacklers to score under the posts, with George Gadsby adding the conversion.