By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Rugby Americas North (RAN) officially announced its tournament schedule for its Sevens Qualifiers as The Bahamas prepares to host the top national programmes in the region.
A total of 20 programmes (14 men’s teams and six women’s teams) will compete in 55 matches, April 23-24 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.
Team Bahamas’ roster includes Daquan Blyden, Kevin Charlton, Kyle Charlton, Dawayne Deveaux, Marcus Gouthro, Spencer Graham, Trevon Henfield, Justin Lewis, Keith McGregor, Travis Sherman, Taj Smith and Michael Watkins.
On day one, Team Bahamas will play two games, opening against Mexico at 12:18pm and will return against the Cayman Islands at 6:54 pm. Much of day two will be determined by pool play on day one. The women’s bracket will also complete bracket play on day two.
Other participating men’s teams include Jamaica, Curacao, Guyana, The British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Turks and Caicos, Bermuda, Belize, The Dominican Republic and Barbados.
Women’s teams include Jamaica, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, The Dominican Republic and The Cayman Islands.
Action begins on Saturday at 9am with a Jamaica versus Curaçao matchup, and concludes with Bermuda taking on the Dominican Republic at 7:16pm. Competition on Sunday will conclude with the women’s final at 6:32pm and the men’s final at 6:54pm.
The tournament is a qualifier for a pair of major upcoming events - the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa in September, and the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, England in July.
The top two men’s teams and one women’s team from the event will earn a spot in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, while the highest-placed men’s team eligible to participate in The Commonwealth Games 2022 will represent RAN, alongside Canada who have already pre-qualified for both men and women.
“We are expecting a high-level of competition over the two days to crown champions that will represent our region this year at two of the sport’s biggest events,” RAN General Manager Niall Brooks said in the organisation’s press release. “I would like to thank Adam Waterhouse and the Bahamas Rugby Football Union, along with The Bahamas Government, for putting their hand up to host this event. With countries in our region at various stages of their COVID-19 vaccinations and recovery, we will be following strict protocols set forth by World Rugby, RAN and The Bahamas government in the lead up to and during the tournament. This is especially important, when we have a relatively large number of players, management, and spectators, all coming together in one place.”
Every tournament game will be live streamed on the RAN website www.rugbyamericasnorth.com.
Waterhouse, the BRFU president, said The Bahamas’ ability to host elite programmes in the region bodes well for the local development of the sport. “It means excitement, it means progress and it means that rugby gets moving again. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a tough two years for all nations, but in particular the Caribbean nations with restrictions, lockdowns and protocols making sport incredibly inaccessible. It is an exciting opportunity to play against some of North America’s (and the world’s) best Sevens teams in a showcase qualifying event for both The Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup Sevens,” he said.
“This event will bring players back to the community, generate a buzz about the game and inspire Bahamian youth to come out and play our wonderful sport. This is a landmark event for both Rugby Americas North (RAN) and The Bahamas. Together we have the potential to demonstrate that rugby is back and it’s back in a big way. Hopefully this will generate a lot of interest locally and further afield and The Bahamas can be seen as a premier sports tourism destination and all visitors can truly experience Sports in Paradise.”
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