The British Virgin Islands rugby picked up a consolation victory against host nation Barbados, but were outdone by questionable refereeing and soggy playing conditions which proved very testing against the top teams in the Caribbean and North America regions during the NACRA 7-a-side rugby championship last weekend.
Last year the BVI entered the NACRA 7s for the first time in four years, having previously been unable to field a team. At that tournament, the BVI drew one game from 8 and lost the remainder.
This year, the squad was determined to finish with a tick in the win column.
However, three months of training could not have prepared team BVI for what they encountered. All of the 15 men’s and 11 women’s teams in the tournament were greeted by a biblical deluge of driving rain which turned the Garisson Savannah into a sea of mud.
The incessant rain during the first day, Saturday, November 12 meant that any idea of free flowing rugby went out the window as the teams struggled with their footing and the rugby ball became a proverbial oval ball of soap.
As if the rain was not enough, the BVI’s first match at 9:00 am was against the defending champions, Guyana, who were fresh from a campaign in the previous week’s Pan-Am games which saw them lose to Mexico in the final.
The powerful Guyanese blew away the BVI in the first half and despite the second half introduction of crowd favourite Andy Simmonds, the BVI were beaten 47-0 by a fitter and more organized opponent.
In the second game against St Lucia, the BVI’s Alex Davidson scored early in the game to give the BVI the lead and long periods of pressure meant that the BVI looked like they would win the game. However, a defensive lapse in the second half let St Lucia in under the posts.
Converting the try, St Lucia sneaked to a win over the BVI which was a blow to team morale. In the day’s final game played in huge puddles, the BVI produced a great first half against a naive but physical Curacao side with Davidson again scoring.
To the dismay of the BVI team, the French referee then disallowed a seemingly good try from Jacques Roux.
With the BVI tiring in the second half, strong running from Curacao resulted in two tries which were the result of poor defensive alignment and missed tackles.
Having been in a position to win two games, the BVI found themselves bottom of the group due to a mix of defensive inexperience and questionable refereeing.
As the storms continued for much of Saturday night, it was debatable whether play would go ahead on day 2.
The following mroning, the BVI team returned to swamp conditions at the Savannah for their first match of the day against Barbados.
The BVI started strongly with Franklyn working a great try before Barbados leveled the game.
Further tries from Nic Recondo and an impressive try in the corner from Tom Chapman gave the BVI a 17-5 lead, which despite late Barbados pressure, the BVI clung on to for a memorable 17-10 win, avenging a defeat in the 15s earlier in the year when Barbados played in the BVI.
The BVI tackled well for most of the game against a larger and faster Barbados side with Roux making two try-saving tackles late in the half.
It appeared that the BVI had learnt from the mistakes made on the first day.
Next up in the semi-final of the bowl was USA South who had also had a tough day 1, losing to Cayman amongst others.
A young and fit USA side was out muscled at the breakdown by the BVI, but had pace in abundance which led to an early score.
Mid-way through the first half, Franklyn had the crowd on their feet with a wonderful chip and chase from the half way line, from which he dribbled the ball through the puddles to score in the corner. As the BVI began to tire, the USA ran in several tries on their way to a 33-5 victory.
In the day’s final game, the BVI in the 11/12th play-off managed to avenge Curacao 12-5 with Roux and Franklyn scoring as well as a rare conversion for Davidson.
In the end, Guyana men claimed the Caribbean Men’s Sevens title for the 6th time and the Canadian Maple Leafs won the Women’s DHL NACRA Sevens Championship, with Jamaica Women winning the Caribbean Championship.
Team BVI thanked their many sponsors including Digicel, Maples, SHRM, DHL, RTW, Captain Mulligans, BVI Olympic Committee and the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.
BVI Squad
BVI Squad: Alex Davidson, Heath Copland, Federico Zicari, Andre Adams, Andrew Simmonds, Tom Chapman, Jacques Roux, Greg Boyd, Jerome Spingette, Jimmy Peters, Victor Franklyn and Nic Recondo.
Coach: Sherlock ‘Solo’ Soloman. Manager: Ronan Kuczaj.
Full Results
Day 1
Guyana 47 BVI 0
St lucia 7 BVI 5 (try Alex Davidson)
BVI 5 Curacao 14 (try Alex Davidson)
Day 2
Barbados 10 BVI 17 (Tries; Victor Franklyn, Nic Recondo, Tom Chapman, conversion Nic Recondo)
BVI 5 (try Victor Franklyn) USA 33
Curacao 5 BVI 12 (Tries; Jacques Roux, Victor Franklyn, conversion Alex Davidson)
(Source http://www.bvidailynews.com/news.php?page=Article&articleID=1321484525)
