In a busy two weeks of touch rugby here in Grand Cayman, teams have been pulling out all the stops to secure a place in the play-off finals. Rounds 11 and 12 were incorporated within Super Saturday and Round 13 (unlucky for some) followed the week after.
In division one, the best performance over the three rounds came from Ogier. Winning all three games they beat dms (4-0), Walkers Blue Iguanas (2-0) and Team LIME (6-2). They are now challenging for a play-off place, just two points behind Appleby with one game of the regular season to play. They have the onerous task of trying to get past champions Maples 1 to secure fourth spot. Ben Hart, with seven tries in the last three games, has been central to this well-timed resurgence in form.
Genesis Five Nations has weathered a difficult period with several key players missing through vacation and injury to win their two games and now sit on top the table. They beat Walkers (5-1) and Team LIME (5-1). Howard Byrne scored four tries and consistently kept defences guessing what he will do next.
PWC lie third in the table level on points with Appleby but with a game in hand. They struggled against a spirited Team LIME (3-2) but a better performance against close rivals Appleby (7-4) meaning they could take one of those play-off places. The deadly duo of Duvenage and Du Plessis is central to their game having scored more than half of PWC’s tries throughout the season.
Appleby are now looking over their shoulders and what once seemed a guaranteed play-off place is now in jeopardy. Over the three games, good wins against Walkers (7-3) and dms (9-2) looked to be just the ticket but that loss against PWC means they go into the last game of the season needing at least a draw against league leaders Genesis Five Nations to be sure of qualifying.
Maples1 hasn’t played a game since round nine due to postponements as a result of player shortages. Meanwhile team LIME, dms and Walkers Blue Iguanas could not muster a win between them in these three rounds and now lay sixth, seventh and eighth in the league respectively. They all have one game left of the regular season before they compete in the Plate tournament come Finals’ Day.
In division two, Trident Titans demonstrated why they are the team to beat as they recorded three wins from three games. They gave Maples2 a real 9-2 thrashing, with the usual suspects Riley Mullen, James Waters and Nick Swartz doing the damage on that occasion. This was followed by victories over Happyfish Ticklers (8-2) and Campbells (9-6).
The battle for the remainder of the top four places is extremely tight and these will be decided in the last round of matches. KPMG1, currently second in the standings under captain Gerhard Albertyn, had a loss to UBS (3-7), drew against DART and beat Maples2 by 6-2.
Maples2 have only three wins in the last nine games. A narrow 4-3 win over UBS was sandwiched between losses to the Titans (2-9) and KPMG1 (2-6). Happyfish Ticklers cemented a place in the top four but will be trying to avoid finishing fourth as that would result in a game against the Titans in the play-off semifinal.
Their tries have mainly been scored by blond brothers Riley Mullen and Simon Crompton.
The bottom four (UBS, Campbells, DART and Harmonic) can relax for the last round of matches knowing that it is the Plate tournament for them. UBS have talent in Agueda Broderick, Campbells sport top player Dicky Sawle-Thomas and DART boast star Neal Ainscow.
In division three, the teams that will challenge for the division title have already been decided. With three wins out of three, Deloitte’s march to the summit continues.
The recent performances of Dean Curtis, with seven tries in the last four games, have added an extra dimension to what was already a potent attack.
KPMG2 are secure in second place but recently snapped a six game unbeaten run. Credit-Suisse and Rawlinson and Hunter lay third and fourth, level on points, separated only by try-difference going into the last game.
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