Northern, Police in rugby knockout finals today

SIX different rugby clubs, led by Championship Division league leaders Stag Trinidad Northern, and Police, TT’s most dominant women’s rugby team in recent years, will feature in three TT Rugby Football Union knock-out finals, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, today.

Two matches, the women’s final, between Police and Royalians, and the men’s senior (second) division final, will start at 2.30 pm at two neutral grounds near each other on the eastern end of the Savannah.

The feature match, starting 4.30 pm, will see Northern - unbeaten in the men’s top tier this season - tackling a Harvard outfit which is struggling for consistency with two wins in four matches. Harvard booked their spot in the final, following a 25-20 victory over Caribs RFC, a club which is notably absent from today’s three finals.

Northern, meanwhile, moved into the top tier knock-out final with a 29-24 victory over Royalians two weekends ago. They also met Harvard already in the championship division league early August, springing clear at the top of the standings with a 15-7 win.

Northern and Harvard will clash yet again next Saturday in a match which is expected to have a significant impact on the outcome of the championship league.

The men’s senior division knock-out final will begin on the same ground immediately before, from 2.30 pm today. Two south-based outfits and finalists Exiles and Rainbow RFC, are also currently locked in a fierce battle for a place in the senior league title play-off.

They met already this season, with the Marabella’s Rainbow RFC defeating their rivals from Gasparillo 27-24.

Exiles will be keen to avenge that defeat, especially as they kept Rainbow ahead of them by one point in Group B and with the best chance of emerging into the league title playoff and ultimately winning the competition, They have been in stunning form otherwise, making light work of their two other opponents in the league, Northern II and Police, whipping them 69-12 and 97-7, respectively.

Rainbow opened their league campaign with a 102-5 victory over Police, before beating Exiles, then losing the chance to go even further ahead of the standings, playing to a 19-19 draw with Northern.

The two teams continued to show their prowess in the second division, winning their semifinals by wide margins.

Exiles crushed Caribs II 99-0, while Rainhow eased past Defence Force 45-17.

Also at 2.30 pm today, Police’s women’s team, three-time consecutive 10s and sevens format league and knock-out champions, meet Royalians women’s outfit on the neighbouring Harvard pitch.

Police, the best women’s rugby team over the last four seasons, lost their only match this year in the league competition, having been unable to fill a full team in their league fixture versus Royalians. That one result put a dent in Police’s ambitions for a fourth consecutive league title.

Police are also defending their women’s knock-out title for the fourth time (there was no competition last year), but are notably without their star player and national team stand-out Nicolette Pantor to injury.

Police advanced to the women’s final, as their scheduled opponents Rainbow, despite registering, has not fielded a women’s team in either 10-a-side competition for the season.

Royalians will enter the match on a high, after thumping Harvard 63-12 in their semifinal contest late last month. Royalians have a rare chance for a women’s knock-out and league double, as they currently sit five points clear above Police in the four-team league standings, following two wins, inclusive of two bonus points.

Action will continue in the men’s senior division league competition tomorrow. Rydeus, sitting one point behind Caribs II, will have the chance to go clear in the standings when they take on Royalians II, languishing second from bottom after three losses.