The FFP Cayman Islands 1st XV men’s team cruised to victory over the Philadelphia Whitemarsh at the South Sound rugby pitch, on 7 March.
The first 10 minutes of the game were competitive, until Cayman’s Paul Westin broke through the Philadelphia defence, making a 40-metre dash to the line, before teammate Harry Clark made good for the extra point.
The Cayman men took control of the game and it wasn’t long before they were over the white line again, courtesy of Ruan Muller, which prompted cheers from the local crowd.
But Philadelphia came back strongly, determined to make good use of their power, and it paid off with a score just before half-time. With the extra point, the half ended at 15-7.
At the start of the second half, Cayman’s defence proved unbreakable, with key plays by Mike Luxton to keep the visitors at bay. After some bruising defensive sets, the Cayman men were able to move back up the pitch to take control of the game once again.
Westin and teammate Blake Egleton both scored tries and, with little time left in the game, a comeback was beyond the Philadelphia team’s capabilities. The final score was 31-7 to Cayman.
Earlier in the day, Philadelphia played the Cayman Heineken Club Select XV team – a match that ended 12-24 to the visitors.
The Philadelphia Whitemarsh team’s appearance in Cayman marked their first international senior rugby match in 33 years. Their last overseas match – in 1991 – was also against Cayman.
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