Pigs Trotters Grounded by the Storm

(CRFU): Round 5 of the Alex Alexander Memorial Trophy did not disappoint as a win for the Century 21 Cayman Storm in the regular season sees that team get their season off to a late start and a big win for the Advance Fire & Plumbing Buccaneers sees them surge into first place in the league standings with only 1 round of games left to decide who will lift the league Trophy for 2013. The 2pm fixture (23 February) between the Cayman Storm and the Queensgate Pigs Trotters saw the Pigs Trotters, still badly bruised from their encounter with the Buccaneers the weekend previous fielding a new look back line with Christopher Haines filling in at 10 for the injured Marco duPlessis.  Photo — Caroline Deegan

The Cayman Storm were also welcoming back many of their 2nd row and back row players who had been lacking in their heavy losses to the Buccaneers and the John Doak Architecture Iguanas.

Buoyed by their fuller squad the Storm took the lead with lock Hugh Williams crashing over the line in what is becoming a trademark swallow dive from only 5 yards out. The Storm extended their lead to 10-0when Michael Sumares covered the majority of the field in a solo effort to add 5 more points to his teams tally. The Pigs, who had previously this season defeated the Cayman Storm 18-35 managed to get into gear when sending James Waters in for 5 points before throwing all but the kitchen sink at the Storm in the closing moments in search of the win. It wasn’t to be for the Trotters but the loss by less than 7 points saw the Pigs earn what may be an invaluable losing bonus point.

The 2nd encounter of the day between the Iguanas and the Buccaneers saw the Iguanas coming out of the blocks early and looking likely to take control of the game from the outset but the Buccaneers absorbed the pressure well as the Iguanas looked for an early try instead of slotting opportunities for points with the boot. The cooler Buccaneer heads however slotted 6 points from the boot of John Murphy to ease nerves and earn a 6-0 lead going into half time.

The Iguanas then suffered the loss of Shaun Hardcastle and Chris Bunce both going off the field with head injuries leaving a hole at fly half to be filled by Ollie Collins and the mounting pressure and fatigue on the Iguana forwards meant the Buccaneers slowly but surely found their way to the try line and never looked back as 4 Buccaneer forwards including Mick Kehoe, Saviri Tabuniwera, Shaun Gerrard and Stefan Prior bullied their way past the Iguana pack to score and ring in a resounding 30-0 win over the Buccaneers.

The bonus point win for the Buccaneers sees that team take a 2 point lead over the Iguanas in the league table and a win over the Cayman Storm in week 6 will see the Buccaneers raise the league trophy for the first time in 5 seasons. However should the Cayman Storm continue on from their win over the Pigs Trotters with an upset against the Buccaneers then the 4pm Fixture between the Iguanas and the Pigs Trotters may well decide who will win the league.

Next games:2 March 2013
2pm Advance Fire & Plumbing Buccaneers (Home) vs. DHL Cayman Storm (Away)
4pm Queensgate Pigs Trotters (Home) vs. John Doak Architecture Iguanas (Away)Follow Cayman Rugby on Facebook and Twitter @caymanrugby