Heineken 7’s heat up as women join the action

(CRFU): With the Premier Division and Social Divisions producing ever more fast paced and exciting games it is with no surprise that the women have joined the act by adding 2 ladies teams to the schedule of 7’s games being played every Saturday in October. With the Heineken Thunder looking to extend their lead at the top of premier division all eyes were on the O’Neill Wolfhounds to see if they could put credence to the words of former national 7’s captain Johnny Doak who, during the live broadcast of “Backchat” on www.caymanrugbytv.com, said that in order to stop the Thunder you need only stop their go to player Ratu Nemesio Wakanibua. Photos by Caroline Deegan

With the Heineken Thunder looking to extend their lead at the top of premier division all eyes were on the O’Neill Wolfhounds to see if they could put credence to the words of former national 7’s captain Johnny Doak who, during the live broadcast of “Backchat” on www.caymanrugbytv.com said that in order to stop the Thunder you need only stop their go to player Ratu Nemesio Wakanibua.

The Wolfhounds, who in the 2 previous weeks had not come close to stopping the Thunder’s star player put on their best display of the campaign to date but it was not Doak who stopped Wakanibua but rather the diminutive James Waters, returning from a long term knee injury, who managed a try saving tackle on Ratu to ensure that the Wolfounds won their first game of the 7’s season in style 10-5.

The Ama Tsotsi, who had so far been jinxed by the Thunder in each of their encounters against the Thunder looked to seal the nail in the coffin for the men in yellow in week 3 by subjecting the Thunder to their 2nd loss of the day but were instead limited once more to a lacklustre 12-12 draw. The draw however was enough to ensure that the Thunder would not progress to their 2nd consecutive final as the only team not to earn a win in the premier division on the day.

The premier division final between the Ama Tsotsi and the Wolfhounds started with one way traffic for the Africans who had early in the day subjected the Wolfhounds to a 29-0 hammering but thanks to late tries from Johnny Doak and James Waters the Wolfhounds saved some face in a 24-12 loss which saw the Wolfhounds playing with 6 men for much on the encounter due to Saviriano Wakanibua of the Wolfhounds being red carded for a dangerous tackle.

After week 3 the tables are too close for comfort
Heineken Thunder O’Neill Wolfhounds Ama Tsotsi
Week 1 10 10 5*
Week 2 20 10 15
Week 3 10 15 20
Totals 40 35 40
* 5 point deduction for fielding an ineligible player.
Social Division

In the social division it was business as usual as the Omni sharks played the day as undefeated champions thanks to their supreme speed and fitness and tenacious attitude on the field of play. Maples came closest to taking the younger scalps of the sharks but were outdone at the last 26-22.

A resurgent Clydesdales side took out the Omni-Remax Knackers 26-10 and put up much improved attacking and defensive display against the Sharks 21-10. In their final outing of the day the Clydesdale were narrowly defeated by Maples as the Lawyers eked out a slim 21-17 win.

The Remax Knackers struggled on Saturday recording their only points of the day against the Clydesdales but with the Clydesdales still propping up the bottom of the social division table there is still much to play for coming into week 4 of the Heineken 7’s

Omni Remax Knackers Heineken Clydesdale Lights Maples Omni Sharks
Week 1 10 5 15 20
Week 2 15 5 10 20
Week 3 5 10 15 20
Totals 30 20 40 60

This article was submitted by CRFU