Nervy TT ruggermen hold off Bermuda

A late flurry by the TT attack was the difference in a tight rugby game against Bermuda as action got underway in the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Men’s 15s Tournament yesterday at St Anthony’s College Ground in Westmoorings.

The hosts edged a a gritty Bermuda team 27-24 to begin their campaign in the championship division.

Bermuda showed aggression early in the second half to take a 17-14 lead and stun the hosts and their fans, but an energetic TT unit held their nerve to see off their plucky rivals.

TT coach Kyle Wynyard admitted it was a nervous performance, but was happy his young team made plays when it counted.

“We had three new caps today, obviously a few nerves and when you come up against a very experienced team that we played against today, who did the basics well on the set pieces, they are always going to give a young team some trouble,” Wynyard said.

“We were able to execute when we needed to, but we still have a lot of work to do because we left a lot of points out there. The last pass and drop balls (let us down). We could’ve won comfortably today, but unfortunately it ended up being closer than it should have been. This is our first game and obviously there is going to be some rust.”

Bermuda took a 5-0 lead in the ninth minute after some solid play on the left side led to a try on the right side. Conor McGowen made the conversion to make it a 7-0 advantage for Bermuda. It was a sluggish start by TT as Sebastian Navarro missed a penalty kick in the 13th minute.

Two minutes later, Kirby Hosang got the first try for TT, and the match was levelled with a conversion by Navarro. In the 31st minute, some intricate passing by TT on the right side almost led to a try, however, TT fumbled the ball metres away from the goal line.

There was nothing sloppy about the play of TT’s Jesse Richards in the 36th minute. Richards picked up the ball in the middle of the field and ran 30 metres to complete the try for TT. The conversion was good to put TT in front 14-7 at halftime. Bermuda started the second half positively, and a a try and conversion knotted the scores. A penalty kick followed to give Bermuda a 17-14 advantage. After Navarro levelled the score with a penalty kick, TT came to life and fell just short of a try on the right side. Anderson Joseph got a try to give TT the lead and TT ended the match with a burst of energy. Another penalty kick by Navarro gave TT a 27-17 advantage. Bermuda got a late try and conversion, but the final whistle came to give TT a close victory. TT will be at home for its second match against USA South on June 16.