Bermuda defeated Trinidad & Tobago 10-7 to pick up their first win at the Rugby Americas North Men's Under-19 tournament in Querétaro, Mexico, on Thursday.

Osiris Buffonge-Hunt opened the scoring for Bermuda with a try four minutes into the game but vice-captain Brandon Sangster missed the conversion and a penalty attempt, which could have added to Bermuda’s lead.

Scrum half Henry Kerr weighed in with the second try for Bermuda. Trinidad fought hard in the closing stages of the match as Jeremiah Moore scored and converted a try, but Chris Naylor and Anthony Cupidore’s side held on for victory.

“It was really great to get a win on the board against Trinidad in our first game of the day,” Naylor told The Royal Gazette.

“It was a good performance all round and we’re pleased that they could bounce back after a disappointing first day. With the win, the vibe improved and it helped some of our boys who were a little bit under par the day before.

“It was nice to see some of our senior guys who had a quiet first day improve their performance and it made such a difference to the whole team.

While Bermuda’s day ended in disappointment with a 33-3 loss to Jamaica, their third defeat of the tournament, Naylor felt that they played much better.

“The Jamaica game, even though we lost, was a much better performance than the Cayman game,” the coach said.

“We kept it close in the second half and Jamaica scored one try during that period. We shut them down better during that period because we were a bit loose in defence in the first half, and that was a challenge.”

Bermuda, who came into the tournament as the No 2 seed after securing silver last year, finished the pool stage second from bottom. After a rest day on Friday, they will clash with Trinidad in the fifth-place play-off when the action draws to a close on Saturday.

United States, the No 1 seed, will play Jamaica for top position with Mexico and Cayman to meet in the bronze-medal encounter.

“Playing for fifth position is not what we would have hoped for coming into the competition,” Naylor added.

“But it’s a fairly accurate reflection of where we are in comparison to the other teams with our young squad.”