The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

RUGBY Americas North (RAN) hosted its Sevens Qualifiers over the weekend as the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium hosted the top programmes in the region looking to advance in further international competition.

Canada won both the men’s and women’s Cup Championships while Team Bahamas finished the tournament with a 1-4 win loss record.

On day one, The Bahamas suffered a 34-0 loss to The Cayman Islands, a hard fought 20-19 loss to the Turks and Caicos Islands and 36-7 loss to Mexico to fall to 0-3.

On day two, The Bahamas opened play with their highest scoring match and lone win of the tournament, a 26-12 decision over The British Virgin Islands.

Kevin Deveaux was one of the top offensive threats for The Bahamas with the lone try scored against Mexico and a pair of tries against BVI.

“It’s a very young team going forward, there are three senior players in the team and everyone else is under 25, we’re young but we’re hungry for it, we just have to find our identity as one of the top teams in the Caribbean, but we will get there,” he said.

“The fitness level is there, during COVID, our coach Josh [Purcell] had us running just about everyday. It’s just the mindset that we can beat these teams was the difference.”

Team Bahamas concluded their run in the tournament with a 31-21 loss to Guyana.

Team head coach Joshua Purcell said it was a welcome return for the senior men’s national programme to international competition.

“It was the first taste of international rugby for a Bahamian team in almost five years so it was a baptism by fire against some real quality teams.

“I have to commend the boys, after the first night they called a team meeting and some real heavy things were said but it was about accountability and responsibility,” he said.

“The focus was awesome all morning headed into the second day and the mentality was that we were not leaving the field without a win. Our big names really stepped up but so did the whole side. It was great to see some things that we trained toward really come to fruition.”

With more opportunities on the horizon, Purcell said he hopes The Bahamas’ performance and hosting of the event prompts more locals to get involved in the sport.

“Hopefully it increases participation in the sport and advertising the sport nationally because the potential and talent for all sports in The Bahamas is endless,” he said.

“We have some more sevens fixtures this year, we also have the 15s version of the game locally and abroad as well so we will give the boys a bit of time to recuperate and then it’s back to the training.”

The tournament is a qualifier for a pair of major upcoming events, including the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa in September, and the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, England in July.

As the top two men’s teams, Canada and Jamaica have earned a spot in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022. Canada won the Cup Championship with a 29-12 win over Jamaica.

Jamaica, runners-up in the Cup Championship, finished as the highest-placed men’s team eligible to participate in The Commonwealth Games 2022 and will represent RAN, alongside Canada who have already pre-qualified for both men and women.

Canada’s women’s team also earned a spot in the Rugby Sevens World Cup with the tournament title over the weekend. They won the Cup Championship with a dominant 33-0 win over Mexico.

Bahamas Rugby Football Union president, Adam Waterhouse, said The Bahamas’ ability to host elite programmes in the region bodes well for the local development of the sport.

“It’s an amazing opportunity. We’re very lucky that we put our hand up to show that the Caribbean can be very well organised and it is a benchmark now for competitions in the region,” he said, “We’re showing that The Bahamas really is ‘Sports in Paradise.’ It shows The Bahamas can be a premier venue for competition in the North America region.”

A total of 19 programmes (13 men’s teams and five women’s teams) competed in 46 matches, over the last two days at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Other participating men’s teams included Jamaica, Curacao, Guyana, The British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Turks and Caicos, Bermuda, Belize, and Barbados.

Women’s teams included Jamaica, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and The Cayman Islands.

“This is an awesome legacy event for us,” Waterhouse said. “It’s disappointing we haven’t had any international competition for five years and the women for about three years so we are hoping a lot of people see this, see the opportunity, fall in love with the sport, come out, start training and we just keep growing and building the talent pool all across The Bahamas from the youth straight through to our elite programmes.”