Touch rugby championships gain momentum

(CRFU): On Match Day 2 of the KRyS Global National Mixed Touch Championships 2013 teams had a chance to either build on the successes of Match Day 1 or try to put right some wrongs and get their first points on the board. Two teams who suffered defeats last week met head-to-head as Walkers took on KPMG. Walkers have an experienced touch team whilst KPMG have an enthusiastic but inexperienced bunch of rookies this year. However, there was only one star of this particular show, Vikki Piaso, who left the KPMG defenders reeling in her wake as she scored two solo tries in the first half. Her combination play with Brad Stephenson tore KPMG apart and had the crowd on its feet.

Walkers had control of the game and never looked like losing, eventually running out 7-3 winners. Interviewed after the game Piaso played down her own role in the team.

In response, Paul Smith scored a hat-trick, Nick Dunne added an extra one and finally Stephenson put the icing on the cake with a breakaway try.

The closest game of the day saw Side Bar NWNT take on Genesis Trust. It was a mouth-watering clash with some of the most elusive and slippery characters to play touch rugby in Cayman on display. Genesis as a team is filled with talent and they ran the title favourites very close. The eventual score of 9-7 to Side Bar NWNT showed that Side Bar could never relax and they relied on Jyoti Choi and Riley Mullen with three tries a-piece to do the damage. Chris Palmer again was highly influential, but any plan to stifle his ball-in-hand skills left the door open for others to exploit.

DART faced their second tough game in as many weeks as they took on the 2012 Champions Heineken Brew Crew.  Depleted in numbers the Brew Crew were possibly as vulnerable as they have ever been. However, whilst they may have been short on players they were not short of talent as Venasio Toketokevanua and Keswick Wright scored almost at will through a combination of sheer pace and fiendish trickery. It all started so well for DART with a try inside 20 seconds as Andy Childe took an early pass from Mat Bishop to sprint to the line. Heineken Brew Crew only had three girls in their match day squad and with no female subs it required them to play for the entire game. In the afternoon heat and with the searing pace of touch rugby that is a tall order for anyone and Jayme Farrell, Jodie McTaggart and Caroline Deegan gave a great performance. They jointly take the MVP award. DART had their moments playing good structured rugby but they couldn’t exploit thegaps and overlaps that presented themselves. Liz Austin had a fine game, particularly in defense.

Both Side Bar NWNT and Heineken Brew Crew remain undefeated in this year’s KRyS Global National Mixed Touch Championships but the Brew Crew sit on top of the table on points difference.

See attachment for current league standings.