<Bz27>Sevens squad third in Barbados
The Island’s rugby sevens squad finished third out of 14 teams at the recently-concluded North America and West Indies championships — with three players subsequently selected to represent the Caribbean next year.
After picking a 12-man squad which included some new faces and and element of untried youth, Bermuda did not fly down to the Barbados tournament will any great expectations but were ultimately thrilled with their impressive showing.
Play began on Saturday, November 11 with the 12 sides divided into three groups with only the top two teams advancing to the knockout phase.
On a scorchingly hot day at the Garrison Field in Christchurch, Derek Hurdle’s Bermuda played the hosts in their opening match, beating them 28 -12 with tries from Hurdle (two), Harry Andrews and Kris Furbert — with Chris Naylor converting all the tries.
The next game witnessed a spirited Martinique side take a commanding 12-0 lead early in the first half before Bermuda rallied with two tries from Tom Edwards and a marvellous solitary effort from Tom Greenslade to leave the game at 15-12.
The third encounter against St Vincent was then totally controlled by Bermuda who won by a landslide 33-0 with tries by Harry Andrews, Greg Garside (two), Edwards and Furbert.
The final game on the Saturday saw Bermuda up against Guyana, who were very strong and also unbeaten in group play — with Guyana running out the winners 40 -12.
Sunday, meanwhile, saw Bermuda up against Trinidad and Jamaica to see which two teams would advance to the semi-finals.
Jamaica beat Trinidad 14-12, prior to Bermuda’s first game, which meant that if Bermuda beat Trinidad, they would then make it through.
Bermuda’s old rivals started well, and after a missed tackle or two, were 12-0 up. But Bermuda dug deep, and showed real character to claw their way back through first half tries by Jonathan Cassidy and Harry Andrews, with a conversion by Chris Naylor to bring the scores level.
Trinidad then, against the run of play, scored under the posts, but missed the conversion, leaving Bermuda three points behind with three minutes remaining — only for Greg Garside to score in the dying seconds to secure Bermuda’s place in the last four.
Unfortunately, Bermuda met the all-conquering Guyana in the semis and were unable to deal with their unmatched pace — going down 30-0 to the eventual Caribbean champions.
Following the tournament, Hurdle, Furbert and Edwards were selected in the initial West Indies squad of 25 players who are preparing for the IRB 7’s event to be held in San Diego, California in February.
