Cayman’s Under-19 Rugby XVs secured fifth overall in the region winning the Plate Finals Sunday (21 July) of the Rugby Americas North Under-19 Championships held in Bridgetown, Barbados at the Bellevue Plantation Polo Club.
After finishing the group stage 1-1-1, Cayman were relegated to the Plate after Trinidad & Tobago defeated Curacao by a larger scoring margin. On Friday (19 July), Cayman defeated Barbados 24-3 in the Plate Semifinals and would follow with a 24-3 win over Jamaica in the consolation finale.
“I think the Plate Final was very clinical,” said Head Coach Jovan Bowles. “We were down two men which left us with 15 players on the field, and one reserve. The team that was on the field the whole game really exposed themselves to quality play, and just showed exactly what we had been working on during training. They came out of the Plate Finals knowing they have the qualities to achieve higher goals.”
“We do say goodbye to seven of the boys in the Under-19 division, while 12 will stay with us for next year. It was positive. Great execution of the game plan, great team effort, good commitment on defense. We slipped to begin the second half where we let Jamaica come through in turnovers we created, and some missed tackles. We got it together towards the end of the second, and finished on a high.”
Next up for Cayman Rugby is the Tier II Americas Rugby Challenge 25-31 August in Colombia. Cayman’s national senior men’s XVs join Mexico representing RAN, while Colombia and Paraguay represent Suramerica Rugby. The top three teams maintain their spot for the following year, while the last-placed team will re-enter regional playoffs in 2020.
See the schedule below:
| Sun. August 25 | Colombia vs Cayman Islands |
| Sun. August 25 | Paraguay vs Mexico |
| Wed. August 28 | Paraguay vs Cayman Islands |
| Wed. August 28 | Colombia vs Mexico |
| Sat. August 31 | Mexico vs Cayman Islands |
| Sat. August 31 | Colombia vs Paraguay |
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