Sat 17 Oct 2020, 14:15
Vagabonds took the spoils at Ballafletcher in a game which pretty much had everything. There were seven tries, five lead changes, four yellow cards and Ryan de la Harpe’s 79th minute drop goal which gave his side a 28-27 victory against Ramsey in the Manx Trophy.
Vagas set out their stall early on with their powerful front five dominating the set scrummage. They turned Ramsey over in their own twenty-two with just five minutes gone. Ross McCulloch crashed into the Ramsey line and the ball was recycled quickly to former Ramsey man Mark Oldfield and he went over for the opening try. Some resilient Ramsey defending and some inaccurate Vagabonds passing left the scoreboard untoubled until the seventeenth minute. A Vagas attack broke down in the Ramsey twenty-two. Matt Meechan recovered the ball for Ramsey and spotted an attacking opportunity on the left. He accelerated out of the danger area and found Ramsey paceman Danny Howard in space on the left wing. He lit up the afterburners and raced in from fifty metres to level the score at 5-5.
As the half hour approached, Vagas seized the game by the scruff of its neck. An attacking scrum deep in the Ramsey half gave them the springboard. As the Ramsey eight retreated, Ryan de La Harpe found a charging Ross McCulloch and he smashed over the Ramsey line to score. Cam Findlay converted. Dan Richmond temporarily reduced the deficit with a penalty at the other end but that was short lived when Cam Findlay did likewise for Vagas and as half time approached Vagas led 15-8.
There was however just enough time left for one final Vagas attack. They used a tried and trusted route to break the Ramsey defence. A powerful scrummage followed by a de la Harpe/McCulloch combination in midfield sent the latter through the Ramsey defence. This time McCulloch was halted but the ball was recycled quickly and wing Jon Reilly went in for the score. Cam Findlay converted to leave Vagas 22-8 in front at the interval.
Eight minutes into the second half the game exploded into life. The kickstarter was Danny Howard’s second try of the game at the end of a neat Ramsey back move. As he was scoring, the two full backs Cam Findlay and Connor Casey were involved in an off the ball scuffle. When referee Chris Till finally restored order, the two number fifteens were shown yellow cards as was Vagas’ Ryan de la Harpe which left fourteen against thirteen. Dan Richmond converted Howard’s try to put Ramsey within a score at 22-15. In the yellow card period Ramsey picked up another try. A quickly tapped free kick sent former Vagabond Peter Frankwick clear and his try brought Ramsey to within two points.
With just over an hour played, Ramsey then had their own discipline problem. Matt Meechan picked up a yellow card after some argy bargy on the side of a ruck. Cam Findlay knocked over the ensuing penalty to extend the lead to five points. This lead lasted just three minutes though. Despite being a man down, Ramsey whipped the ball upfield and from the base of ruck in the shadow of the Vagas posts, Dan Richmond sneaked over from close range to level the game at 25-25. He then converted his own try to give Ramsey a slender lead with fifteen minutes remaining.
Vagas responded by throwing everything into attack. De la Harpe was almost in but just couldn’t quite gather his own chip, Cam Findlay then had a penalty shot which drifted wide and nothing seemed to be working for them. As the time ticked away it looked like Ramsey were just going to hold on for a bonus point win but as the game drifted into its final minute de la Harpe dropped deep behind an attacking ruck and delivered the winning drop goal to give Vagas the points with Ramsey picking up two useful bonus points.
Vagas set out their stall early on with their powerful front five dominating the set scrummage. They turned Ramsey over in their own twenty-two with just five minutes gone. Ross McCulloch crashed into the Ramsey line and the ball was recycled quickly to former Ramsey man Mark Oldfield and he went over for the opening try. Some resilient Ramsey defending and some inaccurate Vagabonds passing left the scoreboard untoubled until the seventeenth minute. A Vagas attack broke down in the Ramsey twenty-two. Matt Meechan recovered the ball for Ramsey and spotted an attacking opportunity on the left. He accelerated out of the danger area and found Ramsey paceman Danny Howard in space on the left wing. He lit up the afterburners and raced in from fifty metres to level the score at 5-5.
As the half hour approached, Vagas seized the game by the scruff of its neck. An attacking scrum deep in the Ramsey half gave them the springboard. As the Ramsey eight retreated, Ryan de La Harpe found a charging Ross McCulloch and he smashed over the Ramsey line to score. Cam Findlay converted. Dan Richmond temporarily reduced the deficit with a penalty at the other end but that was short lived when Cam Findlay did likewise for Vagas and as half time approached Vagas led 15-8.
There was however just enough time left for one final Vagas attack. They used a tried and trusted route to break the Ramsey defence. A powerful scrummage followed by a de la Harpe/McCulloch combination in midfield sent the latter through the Ramsey defence. This time McCulloch was halted but the ball was recycled quickly and wing Jon Reilly went in for the score. Cam Findlay converted to leave Vagas 22-8 in front at the interval.
Eight minutes into the second half the game exploded into life. The kickstarter was Danny Howard’s second try of the game at the end of a neat Ramsey back move. As he was scoring, the two full backs Cam Findlay and Connor Casey were involved in an off the ball scuffle. When referee Chris Till finally restored order, the two number fifteens were shown yellow cards as was Vagas’ Ryan de la Harpe which left fourteen against thirteen. Dan Richmond converted Howard’s try to put Ramsey within a score at 22-15. In the yellow card period Ramsey picked up another try. A quickly tapped free kick sent former Vagabond Peter Frankwick clear and his try brought Ramsey to within two points.
With just over an hour played, Ramsey then had their own discipline problem. Matt Meechan picked up a yellow card after some argy bargy on the side of a ruck. Cam Findlay knocked over the ensuing penalty to extend the lead to five points. This lead lasted just three minutes though. Despite being a man down, Ramsey whipped the ball upfield and from the base of ruck in the shadow of the Vagas posts, Dan Richmond sneaked over from close range to level the game at 25-25. He then converted his own try to give Ramsey a slender lead with fifteen minutes remaining.
Vagas responded by throwing everything into attack. De la Harpe was almost in but just couldn’t quite gather his own chip, Cam Findlay then had a penalty shot which drifted wide and nothing seemed to be working for them. As the time ticked away it looked like Ramsey were just going to hold on for a bonus point win but as the game drifted into its final minute de la Harpe dropped deep behind an attacking ruck and delivered the winning drop goal to give Vagas the points with Ramsey picking up two useful bonus points.
