Trinidad and Tobago rugby women edge Mexico 18-16 in 15s thriller

Trinidad and Tobago's women's rugby team edged Mexico 18-16 in a thrilling Rugby Americas North (RAN) 15s clash at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, on June 28.

After falling to a heavy 71-7 defeat to Jamaica in their previous 15s matchup, TT were determined to make amends against the Mexicans who earned a 39-19 win over Jamaica last month.

Tries from Zoe McKnight, Ketara Munroe and Nicolette Pantor paved the way for TT, who also got a penalty kick conversion from Leah Kintiba in what proved to be a tight contest throughout.

"This was long overdue. We needed something like this. It's been a very long time...this moment has rejuvenated the entire fraternity. This is something we needed for a long time," said TT coach Richard Staglon, after the game. "Especially coming off (the) Jamaica (game) and to bounce back from (a 71-7 loss). To beat the team that beat Jamaica, I'm lost for words."

The Mexicans drew first blood, as Stephanie Rosales gave them a 3-0 lead with a conversion after just seven minutes. It didn't take long for the host to respond, though, as Munroe scored a try down the right side after receiving a nice pass from Pantor to give TT a 5-3 lead on the ten-minute mark.

The TT defence held firm for most of the first half, but Rosales restored Mexico's lead with a 39th-minute penalty to make it 6-5. The Central American team extended their lead to 11-5 when Mariana Morfin found a gap in the home team's defence to score just before the half.

Kintiba ensured her team had momentum going into the break when she converted a kick to cut into Mexico's lead as the score read 11-8 at halftime in the visitors' favour.

In the 54th minute, after Fayola Jack made ground with a determined run, Pantor picked up the slack as she breached the Mexican defence with a dummy and surging run to score her try. TT took a slim 13-11 lead at that stage.

In the 80th minute, TT got another try as McKnight showed her strength and power with an unstoppable run down the left to open up an 18-11 lead for her team.

Five minutes later, Mexico attempted to make a last-gasp comeback as Aimee Ramos eventually broke down the home team's defence after a series of sustained attacks. TT held an 18-16 lead after Ramos' try. Rosales hurriedly tried to convert a kick in the dying seconds, but it wasn't meant to be for the Mexicans as TT held on for a narrow win.

Staglon commended his team's resilience.

"We made some changes and we had adjustments from the Jamaica game. Collectively, this is a good team effort because it would have been so easy to not show up for training after (conceding) 70. Everyone came out and worked together and everyone bought into the changes we made. It showed today. Collectively, I think the girls deserve this."