Mixed fortunes for rugby young and old

(CRFU): Cayman Rugby’s Youth and Oldies scene took to the South Sound rugby pitch on 28 April with the visit of Key Biscayne Rugby Club “Rugby Rats” to the Cayman Islands. The Cayman U13 squad previously visited Key Biscayne in January and narrowly lost that match 29 – 27. Understandably, Key Biscayne's return visit was eagerly anticipated by the Cayman players. The spoils were shared in the warm up games on Saturday with Cayman winning the first game and Key Biscayne winning the second game. The stand out players were Lleyton James, Dylan Bostock and Devin Mourao but the whole squad adapted well to playing sevens (7 a side as opposed to 13 a side) on a full pitch.

The dryer conditions promised a fast flowing game on Sunday and so it proved, with Key Biscayne powering into an early lead straight from the kick off. Cayman hit straight back through strong running from James, Bostock and Josh Bolland. An opportunistic try by Aiden Clemens from a tap penalty saw Cayman take the lead but credit to Key Biscayne who stuck to their task and did not let Cayman run away with the game. Poor tackling from Cayman close to their line let Key Biscayne back into the game with a soft try.

A series of substitutions brought fresh legs on to the pitch for Cayman and powerful running from forwards Duncan Petrie and Matteo Polloni put Cayman back into control after Petrie crossed over for the try. However, Key Biscayne would not back down and only gritty defence and powerful cover tackling from Josh Hubbell and Mourao preserved Cayman's lead. Slick passing from Drew Milgate and Bolland gave Will Edwards a sniff of the try line and Edwards beat two Key Biscayne players to cross in the corner for the decisive try.

Final score Cayman 35-15 Key Biscayne.

Credit for thevictory must extend to the whole squad of 30 players and, whilst not all the players took the field due to the 7 a side format of the games, the squad's dedication in training and commitment in the Iguanas vs. Buccaneers games has raised the standard of rugby at the U13 level beyond the coaches’ expectations. The younger, less experienced players will be pushing for places next season when the U13’s look forward to touring again later this year.

Training for the U13’s resumes in September and all are welcome to join.

Whilst there were numerous successes for the younger players the Cayman Knackers started their 2012 season with a loss to the Key Biscayne Rats. The Key Biscayne team, made up almost entirely of Argentinian expats started the game at a high tempo, although their lack of recent matches showed in the soaring penalty count with numerous infringements in most facets of play.

The teams traded one try a piece in the early exchanges and with the score set at 7-5 to the Rats, the remainder of the first half action was to be found in the middle of the pitch.

The referee had a hard time keeping up with all the infringements from the wily argentines and was soon reaching to his pocket and sent one of the Rats to the bin for continual infringements. Not to be outdone, Stuart Bostock of the Cayman squad decided he too wanted a breather and the chance to replenish his Heineken and got a bit overzealous with the boot in the ruck.

Unfortunately the ref had no choice and a red card ensued leaving the Cayman men with 14 players for the remainder of the game. After a stern talking to from the referee, both captains manage to reign in their players and the second half was a hard fought but clean affair with the Rats tackling well in defense and not allowing the Cayman team to get onto the front foot. Some good backline running from the Rats enabled them to score 3 second half tries to seal the game.

Final Score Cayman Knackers 5-24 Key Biscayne.