Cayman’s U19 Rugby wins NACRA 2015 Plate Trophy
U19’s Team line-up in Orlando
(CIRC): The Cayman Islands National Men’s U19 Rugby team recently competed in the North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Men’s U19 Rugby Championships in Orlando (July 11-19th) and brought home the winning Plate Trophy by beating USA South B 20-8 and Turks and Caicos 29-27. This inspirational win means Cayman U19’s move back up into division A for 2016. Mexico won the overall Championship and is the team to beat in 2016.
Cayman’s U19 Coach, Garry Southway, commented, “Last year, we had a young team who hadn’t had much team experience with international competition and we lost our division A ranking. No one was happy about that and the players have worked very hard this year to claim that division A status back. We are very pleased with year’s result and had a very strong finish to the tournament and look forward to facing off with the likes of Mexico in 2016. “
Final team ranking were as follows: Division A: Mexico, USA South A, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados Division B: Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos, USA South B, Bermuda
Team Manager Stuart Bostock said, “We were very pleased with the result and couldn’t be more proud of the young men who competed. They showed great professionalism on and off the pitch and were an overall credit to our sponsors and the Cayman Islands.”
The 23 Man Squad consisted of: Jordan Southway (Captain), Henry Bolton (Vice Captain), Jackson Wight, Daniel Conolly-Foster, Matteo Polloni, Michael Titcombe, Dylan Bostock, Alex Robertson, Iain Robertson, Patrick Taylor, Liam Kay, Cameron Bridgeman, Michael Matthews, Zac Hutchison, Miles Lumsden, Daniel Smith, Mark Westin, Jacob Pierre, Benedict Lowe, Abdull Patterson, Maurice Rockett-McLaughlin, Piers Davies and Shakur Welcome.
Cayman has been competing in the NACRA tournament for 9 years and has won the main division 5 times during that period. Corporate donations play a vital part in the sports development and the U19’s were very grateful to have the support of DART, Fidelity, Maples, IT Outsource, The Security Centre Limited, Appleby, Home Gas, Comfort Suites, Island Air, Red Sail Sports and the Cayman Islands Government to allow them to compete in this regional Championship.
Technical Director of Cayman Rugby Club Grizz Adams said, “Cayman is producing some very talented rugby players through a comprehensive sports development programme through the support of coaches, medical professionals, parents and sponsors. This latest win for Cayman’s U19’s proves we have what it takes to compete internationally at all levels. We look forward to seeing what this talented team can do in September in the Samoa 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games. ”
Minister Moses Kirkconnell and Minister Osbourne Bodden with U19’s Team Captain Jordan Southway holding the NACRA trophy
