Maples ‘rains’ supreme

(CRFU): The Summer Touch Rugby League started in earnest last Monday amid dark clouds and heavy rains.  Ground staff at the South Sound Rugby Ground worked tirelessly to get the pitch in playable condition and they were rewarded with some great rugby. The Champions, Maples1, were pitched against the League’s new kids on the block, Team LIME.  However Team LIME were unable to hang tough and it was Maples1 who came up with the right stuff to run out winners 8-2.  The conditions required short passes and straight running and Maples1 had to use all their experience to eventually rollover their opposition. 

A hat-trick from skipper Marty Livingston was the stand out performance.  Team LIME showed great heart and ran in two good tries to open their account. In drier conditions they will pose a threat with some notable speedsters in their team.

Genesis Five Nations turned it on again as they found their form from last year and steamrollered PWC 7-2.  They play a “follow you, follow me” style using quick snaps from dummy half to keep the opposition back pedaling.  Roger Priaulx, like a fine Merlot, full bodied and red of countenance, just gets better with age and took the plaudits with a vintage performance as Most Valuable Player.

High scoring Appleby continued their good form from Seeding Day with another seven try haul against Ogier.  Although great going forward they need to work on their defence as Ogier replied with seven tries of their own, including smart work from James Waters and Ben Blair with three tries a piece.

 The final game saw newly promoted Walkers Blue Iguanas given a salutary lesson on life in the rarified atmosphere of the top division.  DMS, with fine performances from the triumvirate of Kehoe, Henshaw and Rossiter ensured the sun wasn’t shining anymore on the Walkers team.

In drier conditions on Wednesday, Division 2 teams kicked off their respective campaigns with tries galore.  The going was good to firm and this allowed for better handling and more incisive breaks.

The stand-out performance came from the Trident Titans.  In an entertaining game with Harmonic, their slick movement and passing interplay led to a try threat from all over pitch.  Orchestrated by Sharlee Henshaw, Stu Miller and Matt Smith the team shared seven tries amongst six different players. 

Maples2 won a tight game with Campbells.  Captain Andrew “Dogga” Dean turned in a star performance with a couple of tries whilst KPMG1 beat Happyfish Ticklers comfortably in the end 6-3, and UBS won a high scoring 7-5 game against DART. 

Player of the week

The first award this season goes to Stephen Chin of DMS.  Bringing a touch of the NFL to touch rugby he made the Play of the Week by intercepting a pass on his own 5 metre line and then ran three-quarters the length of the pitch, finishing off with two classic spin turns to avoid the desperate lunges of rapidly retreating defenders. 

This year caymanrugbytv.com will be showing a selection of touch rugby games each week.  Fans can also become friends of Cayman Rugby on Facebook to see player profiles, interviews and get an inside look at the world of touch rugby.

Round 1 Results
Division 1       
Maples1 8 v 2 Team LIME
Genesis 5 Nations 7 v 2 PWC
DMS 6 v 0 Walkers Blue Iguanas
Appleby 7 v 7 Ogier
        
Division 2       
Campbells 1 v 3 Maples2
UBS 7 v 5 DART
KPMG1 6 v 3 Happyfish Ticklers
Harmonic 5 v 7 Trident Titans