The Cayman Islands National rugby teams for U18 boys, U18 girls and senior men recently attended the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Super Sevens tournament in Mexico City.
The three teams travelled to Mexico City for the tournament, which was held on 11-13 Nov., at the Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helu of Ciudad Universitaria and was billed by RAN as the biggest tournament in its history.
For the U18 Cayman national girls’ rugby team, this was the first age-grade women’s tournament the team had competed in. The majority of the team had only been playing rugby for a few months, and impressed with every ball carry, tackle and set piece.
The girls played a total of six matches in a round robin format, and although they did not secure a win, they learnt a lot and improved with every game they played.
Micah Leon, who scored a try for the girls’ team, was selected by RAN for the U18 Dream Team. The team’s manager, Mercedes Foy, expressed “we are so proud of every girl who represented Cayman, they played with heart, passion & commitment all weekend.”
The Cayman men’s team fought hard and ended the tournament fourth and secured a spot in the Centro Caribe Games in 2023. They placed second in their pool, comfortably beating Bahamas and St. Lucia before losing a hard-fought battle against their rival, Mexico.
Day 2 they faced a fierce Barbados team in the quarterfinals, who we could have put away easily in the first half, but some unforced errors left a narrow margin at half time. Paul Westin carried half the Barbados team with him over the try line to put Cayman ahead at half time, 5-0.
Barbados took the lead 10-5 with a few minutes left to go. Cayman’s co-captain, Justin Wight, scored a try to tie the game as time expired. Alex Harvey kicked the conversion to win the game, 10-12.
This win secured Cayman’s spot at the CAC Games. Cayman lost the semifinal against the Jamaican national team. Had Cayman advanced to the final, they would also have qualified for the Pan American Games.
The U18 Cayman boys’ team placed second in their group with a convincing win over Curacao. Coach Edward Westin said, “Cayman defended with heart and patience and after Curacao started the scoring with a try out wide, the rest of the game was Cayman’s, with a hat trick of tries from Robert Eyers and Robert Birch scoring after a penalty.”
The boys played well against tournament favourites, and ultimate winners, Mexico A but they were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities. On Day 2 U18 Cayman boys beat Trinidad and Tobago in the quarterfinal which set them up against Jamaica in the semifinals.
Although Cayman played with heart, the pace of Jamaica was too much for the Cayman team. The team fought to the end, putting their bodies on the line in a courageous defensive effort but in the end the Jamaican team won.
U18 Cayman boys finished the tournament in fourth place and hope to be able to represent Cayman in the Youth Commonwealth Games next year.
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