The Cayman Islands men’s national rugby team will have to continue to wait to rejoin international competition following their withdrawal, due to COVID-19 protocols, from the recent Rugby Americas North Sevens tournament in Turks and Caicos.
The tournament, held 16-17 Oct., comprised nine teams competing for a chance to advance to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in 2022.
Cayman Rugby Union confirmed that a local team was selected and scheduled to play in the tournament. However, CRU director Jovan Bowles told the Cayman Compass that the team was forced to withdraw due to COVID regulations.
The added cost of adhering to COVID protocols made the proposed trip to Turks and Caicos go way over budget, he explained, saying, “based on our current government guidelines we just weren’t able to travel”.
Cayman’s national rugby players have not competed internationally since 2019. It’s a hiatus that has left Bowles “heavily upset”.
“Because of the type of investment we put into the team and the system itself, to not be able to showcase that is extremely frustrating. We haven’t seen any international competition in two years plus, and we are desperate to get some game time.”
Many young Caymanian rugby players have been training since early August in the hopes of making the team that would be competing in Turks and Caicos, Bowles said.
“There’s a lot of Caymanians that have come through that are looking to make an impact on the senior team,” he said, noting how disappointed the younger players were to miss the chance to compete internationally.
According to Bowles, the men’s rugby team is expected to compete in February next year at another Rugby America North tournament.
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