No woman, no try

(CRFU):The first Annual Charity Touch Rugby Tournament sponsored by Stella Artois took place Saturday underthe floodlights at the Camana Bay sports field. Raising money for the “Feed Our Future” organization that provides school meals to underprivileged children, eleven teams played in two pool groups to determine who went forward into the semi-finals and final. Mixed teams, with three men and three women, played under an interesting variation on the usual rules with a try scored by a woman counting double. This often proved decisive as the games were hard fought and usually close. The teams that utilized their female contingent the best were likely to win. (Photo Mark Robson)

Pool A comprised Harmonic, Broadhurst, Team RoRo, Baker-Tilley and the imaginatively-named No Woman No Try. The latter boasted a superstar line-up genetically engineered to play the game with speed and precision and were the pre-tournament favourites. So keen were they to dominate this event that they were secretly seen practicing complex manoeuvres the night before that would have made the D-day landing looks simple by comparison – clearly a fun charity event is serious business for these guys.

Early pool wins served notice to the opposition that they were in-it-to-win-it but they were given a confidence sapping slap in the face with a sobering 2-3 defeat to newcomers Baker-Tilley.  Largely unknown to the touch rugby world Baker-Tilley, captained by Gareth Wilkinson, dominated the Pool and stormed into the semi-finals with four wins out of four playing fast and furious rugby. Team RoRo were pretty in pink although I’m convinced their kit was meant to be all-white but for an errant pair of red underpants in the pre-game kit wash.

The perky pinks played the pastel purples of Broadhurst in a kit clash that required sunglasses to be handed out even though the game was at night-time.  It was a colourful match that delighted the crowd. Harmonic played some great rugby too but were up against it with some of the powerhouses on show.

In Pool B the matches were extremely tight. The Rainbow Warriors, composed of mainly Kiwis and South Africans, were dressed to distress in multi-coloured hippy spiral tie-dye shirts. The crowd could not be sure if they were dressed ironically or whether their psychotically disturbing outfits were actually still in fashion back in their homelands. Either way, no game was easy and they had close wins over Maples and Team UBS to secure a 100% record.

The rest of the teams Ernst & Young, Touchy Feely, and The Ticklers all played out excellent games with most scores determined by the odd point or too.  With some creative accounting done in the “Points Difference” column, the accountants of Team UBS secured second place over Maples despite both teams finishing equal in the group with three wins, one draw and one defeat.

The first semi-final was between Baker-Tilley and Team UBS. Given their respective results in the pool stages, no-one gave Team UBS a realistic chance but sport can wonderfully confound the most ardent of armchair expert and UBS scored first and early and then hung on to their lead with their renowned defence as Baker-Tilley ran out of time and ideas. The 3-2 score a reflection on the spirit within their team, Joanne Remillard a stand out player in defence.

The second semi-final saw No Woman No Try take on Rainbow Warriors. This game was always going to be frantic and so it proved. These players know each other very well from previous encounters in varying incarnations and No Woman No Try, with Neal Ainscow in the ascendency, came out victorious this time, the final score 2-1.

The hour may have been late but there was a party atmosphere as the noisy crowd, fuelled with heady anticipation, prepared for the grand finale. Could Team UBS pull a second rabbit out of the hat and claim victory or would No Woman No Tryprove the pundits right and secure the title they so cravingly desired?

It proved a bridge too far for Team UBS as their opponents used electric pace to dominate the game. No Woman No Try with their tried and tested driving plays pinning back the UBS defence, they unleashed those well-rehearsed killer moves closer to the line. The score was close and the match tense, but frustration got the better of some of the UBS players causing referee Mick Kehoe to give one of them time for some inner-contemplation and reflection on the sidelines for the persistent questioning of his decisions.

No Woman No Try was only one-up at this point and the exclusion deflated UBS as they leaked more tries, and the final score was 5-1 to No Woman No Try. Special mention must go to the girls on the team – Jo Ziegler, Sharlee Henshaw, Chandra Friesen, and Lisa Bird who played brilliantly demonstrating that if ever there was a team aptly named then No Woman No Try is it. When asked about the event, Captain Jyoti Choi said, “The lights were great and it was fun to try out something different. We’ll definitely be back next year to defend our title.”

Organiser Mat Bishop said, “I am delighted that we were able to put this tournament together to help children in Cayman that are in need. Stella Artois were fantastic to help us put on this event. There is a very strong Touch Rugby community here and this type of event gives us the chance to enjoy our sport whilst giving something back to the community.”

Everyone agreed the tournament was an enormous success with just under $3000 raised for “Feed Our Future”. Stacey Vandevelde from Feed Our Future said, “We are very grateful for the help this tournament has provided”.

The tournament is indebted to the wonderful support of sponsors Cayman Distributors, Stella Artois, and Black Trumpet. Organisers would also like to thank Dart Enterprises and DJ Chris Jackson for their contributions to the night.