Northern ruggers unstoppable after round one

ANDREW GIOANNETTI

TRINIDAD Northern cruised to a 50-14 victory over Royalians, on Saturday, to record the widest margin of victory by any team in the TT Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) Championship Division this season to maintain its lead at the end of the first round.

Northern’s win at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, put them on 14 points, which includes two bonus points for scoring four or more tries in two of their three matches. Northern sit three points ahead of Caribs, who won their second straight match, beating Harvard 32-21 in a come-from-behind effort.

The league leaders sealed the all important bonus point within a half an hour of their contest with Royalians on Saturday.

Dane Parks scored a try in the sixth minute, opening a flurry of attacks from Northern. Chris Hutton quickly added a pair of tries, before Ronald Mayers adding yet another, with Sebastian Navarro converting three to give Northern a 27-0 advantage by the 27th minute.

Almost immediate, national team stand-out and captain Felician Guerra gave Royalians a glance at a turn-around with back-to-back tries within the space of seven minutes, slotting home both between the uprights in the process.

However, Northern had the final say in the first period, extending their lead to 31-14 at the break.

The winning team added another three unanswered tries in the second half, with Navarro converting another two efforts, to close in convincing style.

Meanwhile, Caribs continued to respond positively following its opening day loss to Northern, with a famous win over Harvard, also at the Queen’s Park Savannah, to finish round one within arms' length of Northern.

After Harvard opened a 14-8 lead by the end of the first half, Caribs regrouped and stormed back in the second, outscoring their rivals 24-7 to finish the match comfortable winners.

Bess Waqa was once again a key player for the “Beer Boys”, scoring a first half penalty, as well as a try and conversion in the second. Kemo Stewart also scored a try in both halves for Caribs.

Caribs' win, which also earned them a bonus point, put them on 11 points.

Harvard remains third with five points, followed by Royalians, who are yet to register a win or bonus point.

The second round is scheduled to start on September 21 with Northern hosting Harvard and Royalians taking on Caribs at Caribs’ home ground.