Caribs defend rugby knock-out crown

CARIBS celebrated their first major rugby title this season when the “Beer Boys” edged Trinidad Northern 27-24 in a tense affair, on Saturday, to lift the TT Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) Marcus Minshall for the second year running.

That match and the preceding Senior Division Knock-out final, in which Harvard’s second team trounced Defence Force 54-7, were both played at Harvard Pitch, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. The Women’s Division final was carded to open a triple-header on Saturday but that fixture was again postponed.

Northern players were left gutted when the final whistle sounded as they put on an exceptional second-half performance, outscoring their rivals 14-5. The blue-and-white clad team even went ahead with less than five minutes remaining in the match with a converted try from Daryl Scott. However, Caribs dealt the devastating blow through a try from Richard Staglon, who completed a hat-trick and secured the win for the “Beer Boys.”

Caribs built momentum early on and went ahead within five minutes of the contest through national Fiji-born TT national player, Sefanaia Waqa, who scored a penalty. Caribs then went ahead 8-0 when Staglon scored his first try in the eighth minute, which Waqa converted.

Northern pulled five points back in the 12th minute through a Cubison Thorne try. Jonathan Taylor extended Caribs’ lead with a 16th minute try, before Northern again narrowed the deficit in the 25th minute with a try from.

Caribs were then cruising with a 22-10 lead at the half following a second try from Staglon, which again saw Waqa kick clean between the uprights.

Northern scored two tries in the second half, the first from Kyle Loo Kong and the second from Scott, both of which were converted by Sebastian Navarro. They faced an even greater uphill battle searching for a win with the second half dismissal of Kareem Figaro, who was directed by the referee to the sin bin. Caribs will be seeking two trophies in as many weeks, while Northern will be looking to make amends for their loss, when the two rivals meet in the annual Bruno Browne fixture on Saturday. Caribs and Northern’s second teams will also be back in action to challenge the Raffie Hosein Cup. Both matches will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Tragarete Road, Port of Spain.