The touch rugby grand finals saw 26 teams turn out at the South Sound Rugby Ground in what has been one of the best seasons ever.
Teams played for pride, for places, for the plate and most importantly the title of champions in a winner-takes-all division final.
In the division one final, it was Maples1 against SteppingStones.
Maples1 came through a competitive semi-final against Genesis Five Nations (4-1) whilst SteppingStones survived a scare and a half-time deficit against Trident Titans to win 2-1. This set up the final that everyone expected and hoped for.
Maples1, the three times champions, have had a steady if unspectacular season. Ruthlessly efficient in the dispatch of their rivals it has only been the inimitable SteppingStones that have bloodied their nose this season – twice.
SteppingStones have swept all before them this season. Fourteen games played, all won. The game started at a frantic pace. Maples1’s Jyoti Choi opened the scoring, before Steve Henshaw equalised. Chandra Friesen put Maples1 ahead again going into half-time. After the break, Richard Gordon and Emily Davies put Maples1 further ahead.
SteppingStones Ray Galletly was running through gaps but couldn’t find the vital pass. Even his trademark backhand pass missed the target. No matter how hard SteppingStones pressed but could not score. Eventually Wiki Hitchman crossed for the Stones before Scott MacDonald scored a fifth for Maples1.
It was game over as the clocked tick down. SteppingStones scored a consolation through Vikki Piaso but the result was never in doubt.
The division two final was between Harmonic and Broadhurst.
Having beaten the Heineken Light Maidens in the semi-final, Harmonic took to the field with a team of experienced players. Broadhurst, on the other hand are in their first season and have impressed everyone with their ability and enthusiasm.
They were missing a few key players but had caused the upset of the day by beating Division 2 League winners Deloitte in the semi-final 3-2.
What followed was an object lesson in controlled touch rugby. Solid defence combined with quick hands in attack and Harmonic were dominating.
Tim Rossiter scored an excellent individual try for Harmonic. Neil Montgomery tried to rally his Broadhurst troops but they were exhausted from their semi and Harmonic always seemed to have the edge. Tim Fitzgerald and Brad Cowdroy added the extras and the final score was 3-2 to Harmonic.
In the Division 3 Final, Zolfo Cooper took on Delta Force in a thrilling match that went right to the wire. Both in their first seasons in Cayman touch rugby, these teams finished first and second in the league, and both came unscathed through their semi-finals against Credit Suisse and KPMG2 respectively.
Division 3 is often called the social division but the quality of touch rugby is still high.
The match was an extremely tight affair with the scores tied at 2-2 at full time. Jyoti Choi had notched up the scores for Delta Force and Marc Randall had done likewise for Zolfo Cooper. Both players had been instrumental and inspirational for their teams all season. But there can only be one winner and so the drop-off eliminator was brought into play.
Teams continued to play until the next score but players were removed from the pitch at regular intervals. In the end, it was a full length dive for the line by Tom Eliot for Zolfo Cooper that won it.
Heartbreaking for Delta Force but they can be proud of their first season’s efforts and come back next year.
In the plate finals congratulations go to Maples2 (Division 1), Campbells (Division 2) and GCM (Division 3) who all won their second-tier finals to cap off a great day and a fantastic season.
At the end of season Touch Rugby Awards Dinner held at the Wharf Restaurant the individual player awards were announced to heartfelt and noisy applause.
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