Stepping stones shine on super Saturday

(CRFU): The summer sun scorched Super Saturday as touch teams showed up and sweated for the first all-dayer of the season. Twenty-four teams, twenty-six games, 175 tries, 573bottles of water and 3,744 touches* all featured in Rounds 5 and 6 of the Cayman Summer Touch Rugby at the South Sound Rugby Ground. What happened on the day? Here is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth**:  The spoils of Division 1 went to Stepping Stones who rose to the top of the table with two great wins.

Division One:Their first match, a top of the table clash with reigning champions Maples1, saw them unseat the three times titleholders 4-2. Scott McCarty, Riley Mullen, Dougie Anderson, and Vangie Raftopolous converted the chances for Stepping Stones with Adam Huckle and Jo Ziegler replying for Maples1. Ziegler, who is having a fine season with four tries in five games, did more than most to drag Maples1 back into the game, but this was not going to be her day.  This is their first loss of the season but Stepping Stones have not lost a match since their inception. Is it a case of “The King is Dead, Long Live the King”? It is too early to tell as we approach the mid-point of the season but the Stones’ play with a great fluidity that is hard to repel. One thing is for sure, Maples1 won’t go down without a fight.

Stepping Stones easily beat Ogier in their second match 10-1 to consolidate their position at the top of the table, Lisa Bird putting in an MVP performance with two tries. Maples1, playing with the fury of a lover scorned, took DART apart also registering a 10-1 scoreline.

Trident Titans continued their sporadic season with a win (3-2 against DART) and a loss (0-1 Maples2). Against DART the tries came from Brad Stephenson, resplendent in Chernobyl-esque glowing orange boots, and the dashing Riley Mullen, the man who puts the whizz in “Gee Whizz, that guy is fast!” The try of the game came from DART’s big hitter Mat Bishop. Mat usually likes to position himself right of centre for the most part but uncharacteristically found himself on the left wing. Majorly uncomfortable in this ultra-neo-leftist role he took the ball and made a strong diagonal run across the pitch to his more familiar far-right position. Chased all the way by the Titans defence he dived full length registering on impact a whopping 6.9 on the Richter scale, and a 1.0 on the scoresheet. 

Maples2 pushed themselves into third with a 2-2 draw against KPMG1 and a hard fought 1-0 win over Trident Titans. KPMG1 bossed the early exchanges and scored two first half tries much to the chagrin of the Maples2 players. Nothing galvanizes a team more than a sense of (rightly or wrongly) perceived injustice and they came out in the second half and took control of the game. Upping the tempo they replied with tries from Marc Randall and Justin Colgan. In the end they had the majority of possession but could not converttheir chances. Against Trident Titans it was Andrew Dean who profited from an excellent break from Marc Randall at dummy half to score the only try of the game. It may have been low scoring but the quality was high and the intensity extreme. The Titans could not break through often only a fingertip touch away from a vital score.

Ogier maintained their 100% record of the season but unfortunately all the entries are in the “L” column. Losses to Genesis Five Nations (2-5) and Stepping Stones (1-10) hide the fact that Ogier have a great team spirit and work very hard during the game but they struggle to score and with only 12 tries all season the need for some game breakers is evident.

Genesis Five Nations had a mixed bag of results with a win over Ogier (5-2) and a defeat to KPMG1 (4-5).  Their day reflected their season so far but the spirit in the camp stays strong as they look toward players returning so they can make a push for the play-offs.

After three defeats at the start of the season KPMG1 are now undefeated in three and are showing real signs of promise and progress. In their second game against Genesis Five Nations, Michael Sumares again showed why he was missed in the early part of the season by scoring another hat-trick. His shuffling side-step caught the Five Nations defence flat-footed. Dan Andersen, captain of Genesis Five Nations, weighed in with two tries and an MVP performance but further KMPG1 tries for Ryan Eisenhammer and Grant Cellier sealed a valuable win 5-4.

Division two:

Division 2 saw its own top of the table clash between Harmonic and the Heineken Light Maidens. With both teams undefeated this season everyone was expecting fireworks but sadly it was not to be as Harmonic suffered from a much depleted squad and had to start the match with only four players instead of the pre-requisite six.  The Heineken Light Maidens, hell-bent on usurping them from the table top, were stunned when Rob Aspinall crossed for the opening try. Resplendent in fingerless gloves and aviator shades and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Ponch from CHiPs, Aspinall scored after a superb offload from Scott McCarty. The Maidens win-at-all-costs mentality soon had them back on the front foot and three first half tries were a decisive blow. By the time the rest of the Harmonic squad eventually turned up the writing was already on the wall and it said “Heineken Light Maidens 6 Harmonic 1”.

Broadhurst finally got their first win of the season with a 4-1 win against Rawlinson & Hunter. Under the baking midday sun Broadhurst stuck with their sartorial policy of “80’s aerobics purple chic”. These athletes in amethyst may have been sweating more than Rush Limbaugh at a Barack Obama Look-a-Like contest but one could now see the benefit of wearing their puce-coloured bandeaux.  With eyes free from stinging perspiration Broadhurst ran in four tries with Scott Murray (2), Tess O’Connor and team captain Kate McClymont providing the inspiration for victory.  Defeat for Rawlinson & Hunter saw them hit the bottom of the table and with a further defeat from Harmonic in Round 6 they demonstrated all the bounce-back-ability of a cow-pat hitting the sidewalk from 12 stories – these are tough times for the Hunters’ whose season is going down faster than Monica Lewinsky on a bobsleigh.

Walkers Blue Iguanas had a splendid time with two victories. Walkers’ James Melen had an awesome day at the office with 3 tries against DMS and another in their 5-2 win over Campbells. Legal eagle Mr. Melen won’t be billing out his time on the pitch however, I’m not sure the Blue Iguanas could afford him on this form. Their fabulous five-piece band of boys – Rolf Lindsey, James Melen, Paul Smith, Martin Davies, and David Byrne may not be as good-looking, talented or rich as the Backstreet Boys, but they certainly displayed the co-ordinated footwork and harmonious interplay that would make Nick, Howie, A.J. and the others who no-one can remember proud.  When asked if he was happy with Walkers’ season thus far Melen replied, “We need to Quit Playing Games because I Want (to play) It That Way in every game!” Just as he finished the rest of the guys joined him in close-harmony singing and laid down some cheesy 90’s dance moves. Curious.

After a slow start to the season Deloitte are starting to realise some of the potential they showed on Seeding Day.  Two wins over DMS (7-2) and Island Heritage (7-1) moved them into second spot. Recently shorn Alastair Lum contributed two tries per game, but it has been the addition of Robbie Cribb which has taken this team to the next level. Four tries against DMS and another against Island Heritage made him joint highest scorer on the day. They will need to spread the tries out though if they are going to challenge the Heineken Light Maidens for the title as any key injuries or absences later in the season could de-rail their campaign.

UBS and DMS suffered double defeats.  UBS seem to have found themselves a little firecracker of a player in Agueda Broderick who outsprinted Campbells’ nippy Dicky Thomas for her inaugural try in touch rugby. In the match itself though, Campbells proved too strong as their experience players started to become increasingly influential. Tries for Wiki Hitchman (2), and the venerable old guard of Peter de Vere (2), Marcus Cumber and Johnny Doak secured all three points. DMS lost to Walkers’ (2-7) and Heineken Light Maidens (1-8) in a day they might rather forget.

Island Heritage’s unbeaten record came to an end with two crushing 7-1 defeats to Deloitte and Broadhurst. The wheels seem to have come off their wagon for the moment and they need to recapture their early season form if they are going to get in the play-off places.

Division Three

The top two in Division 3, Zolfo Cooper and Delta Force, both recorded valuable wins.  Zolfo Cooper beat Ernst & Young (5-1) and Credit Suisse (3-0). Katherine Maw was a stand-out player for Zolfo Cooper although this team share out the tries nicely which goes some part in explaining why they top the table.

Delta Force, with captain Jyoti Choi as their guru and inspiration, notched up close wins against KPMG2 (5-3) and LIME (5-4). It was nail biting stuff for the onlookers but there is always the sense that Jyoti can always pull something special out of the bag. As he ran in his third try against KPMG2 a cheeky re-working of the Beethoven symphonic classic “Ode to Choi” could be heard coming from the crowd. In their second game against LIME it was Rupert “the” Bell whose adventures on the pitch gained him two tries and an MVP award. They’ll be singing in the streets of Nutwood tonight.

Credit Suisse, GCM, LIME and KPMG2 came away from the day with one win and one defeat each. Whether the glass is half full or half empty for these guys will depend on how they perceive their performance in the games. Special mention must go to Natalie Larkman (KPMG2), Niall O’Sullivan (GCM), and Johann Prinsloo (Credit Suisse) who although ending up on the losing team all won the Player of the Match award. Great work folks!

Ernst & Young and Queensgate Grizz’s Old Fellas are locked in battle in the basement of Division 3. The Old Fellas haven’t won a game and Ernst & Young’s only win was against the Old Fellas. It doesn’t really matter though, this Division is meant to be the “friendly” league and these two teams typify that ethos. Points are few and far between and they may have to wait until they meet again in Round 10 before they get the chance for anymore. Mind you, nothing surprises me in touch rugby, other than a Queensgate Grizz’s Old Fellas victory that is.

*more or less

**allegedly