Rugby world Cup 2011 NAWIRA qualifiers
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Trinidad and Tobago move on to round 2 after defeating Guyana in the final on Saturday 40 points to 24. Bahamas Beat Mexico 23 - 17 in the Bowl Final, Bermuda beat Barbados 17 - 6 in the plate final and Cayman overcame Jamaica 11 - 10 in the Shield Final and the Mayfair Cup. The whole event has been a huge sucess here in Cayman with viewing figures in the milions world wide. Finals day Dedicated to Maureen Dunne We have dedicated tomorrow's final day to one of our true rugby friends,
nurse Maureen Dunne who passed away on March 28th after surgical
complications leaving her 5 year old daughter Chloe. Maureen was dedicated
to the Rugby club offering her services as a nurse for several tournaments
over the past ten years and was in fact due to assist Doc Sean this week.
The squad held their last training session yesterday evening in preparation for tomorrows game against Jamaica. Several players were unable to train due to injuries that are being treated. Hannon is still a big question mark, Wagner is out, Tressider is out but Bishop and Rossiter are back for Saturday's clash. Veteran Grizz will make a return at Tight head to cover the hole left by Wagner. Martin Livingston has been named as match day skipper in Wagners place and assistant skipper Gerard is expected to make an appearance from the bench later in the game. Saturday's team 1. De Vere 2. Bacon 3. Adams 4. Bishop 5. Du Toit 6. Rew 7. Clark 8. Tressider 9. Elliott 10. Bunce 11. Wright 12. Livingston 13. Rossiter 14. Doak 15. McMillan 16. Arscott 17. Kehoe 18. Gerard 19. Law 20. Cumber 21. O"Connor 22. Akiwumi Internet stream a huge sucess with over 41 countries tuned in on Wednesday and an estimated audience of over 17,000 across the globe watching the games live.
Championships after party announced The Dog House will provide the venue for the Championships after party, free of charge for all teams and management from 8pm until midnight when busses will ferry the teams into the Seven Mile Beach area. The Dog House will be providing a DJ, food and drinks specials and it's ladies night so free entry to all the ladies a small cover will be in effect for the general public.
Finals day April 26th and round 2 April 23rd results
Frank Comments from the National Coach The Cayman National team worked hard for a win yesterday against Mexico with better line out, scrum and three quarter attack and for a long time the game hung in the balance. In the 68th minute a missed tackle allowed the Mexicans to score a try and they hung on to their seven point lead for the last 12 minutes of the match to win 13 points to six. The Cayman side improved on their performance against Trinidad last Sunday and if they continue to improve they will have every opportunity against Jamaica on Saturday in the shield final. Many of the newly capped players looked a lot more settled yesterday with the big event nerves having been spent on Sunday and it is pleasing to see so many of the Academy players of years prior now coming to the fore and cementing places in the national team as well as winning their first full caps. Clark, Wright, Doak, McMillan, Dilbert, Ben and Rich Tressider are all products of the junior academy program and have equipped themselves very well in this new look squad. New Caps Bacon, Du Toit, Bovell, Rew, Bunce, O.Conner, Stewart, Rossiter & Bishop now join IRB RWC veterans Wagner, Arscott, Law, Elliot, Hannon and Livingston. It is a very new side to the international arena and while the results have been dissapointing so far there is much potential especially with the underlying Academy players such as Bell, Cuff, Vasquez, Montague, Martins, Arch and many others just beggining to push through into the senior ranks. Yes the line out has mis fired all tournament and to be honest the throwers, lifters and jumpers have not been up to scratch. The scrummage has struggled especially on the tight head side but we have done a lot of work there already and improvement is coming along, it is a new look front row and all the players are learing in the line of fire. We knew coming into this event that we may struggle with both the line out and the scrummage so the goal was to always to get as much out of the three matches as possible so the players can learn first hand and then continue to develop. Much of the dog has gone from the packs of old but that comes from playing a lot os high class matches. In short this group of forwards has not had these and it is unreasonable to expect them to suddenley develop this attitude, it will come with time, experience and confidence something the vast majority of these players simply do not have. It has been good to know that we have so much speed in the back line but we are not yet using this correctly, in part due to the quality of ball from the forwards and in part due to our decision making processes. We have excellent experience in the back line but again this is a whole new speed and dimension that our players are not used to and have struggled at times to deal with. Our defence has been good generally but as we have all seem it has broken down on occaision and needs more work. So in short and with all honesty I expected to do better, based on what we have seen from these teams in the past I thought that we might get away with some weaknesses. I was wrong and we have been exposed by well drilled and skillfull opposition. I knew that this time had to come, we have to get our younger players involved and unfortunately it was not a case of slowly introducing a few at a time 18 of 22 in Sunday's squad were playing in a world cup qualifying international for the first time and 17 of those looked a lot better yesterday. I hope that on Saturday we can sit back and enjoy the game and just play the way we can, we need to now get some confidence through the squad and continue to develop, we need to play more international matches, to train as a squad and to develop our skills if we are to keep up with the rapid development of the other international teams that we have seen in our region this week, simply playing AA cup matches and the odd touring game is not enough, we have the talent of that I am sure what we need now is the experience.
World Media takes note of Rugby in the Cayman Islands. Pictures and articles have appeared in news papers as far way as Dubai and as many as 32 coutries tuned into the live webcast of Sunday's matches
Cayman squad news. Richard Tressider is out for the remainder of the tournamemnt after dislocating a shoulder. Hannon & Wagner are also doubtfull for Wednesday's clash with Mexico and medical staff are also assessing several other players throughout today. The squad will train this evening and will be focussed upon the line out and scrummage both of which failed to function in Saturday's clash against Trinidad.
Wednesday April 23rd draw announced
Sunday April 20th Results
Cayman fail to move on in the RWC after loosing to Trinidad 39 - 12 in the opening match of the tournament. Cayman struggled from the get go making unforced errors throughout the first half and failing to secure any solid scrum of line out ball. The trend continued in the second half with no break in sight and Trinidad capitalised at every opportunity scoring seven tries to Cayman's 2. Cayman's next match is against Mexico at 10:30 am on Wednesday April 23rd at the South Sound Ground.
Training went very well yesterday with the squad looking very strong. Captain John Wagner announceed the selectors starting XV for Sunday with the bench being announced on Saturday's final training session before the Trinidad game. The squad is well rested and optomistic about the upcoming championships. The Dinner this evening at Harveys is set to be attended by some ninety guests, VIP's and members and promises to be an excellent affair with the William Webb Ellis Trophy on display. Barbados arrived on Island yesterday and trainied this am at CCC school. Six more teams arrive today and one tomorrow completing the field. The Trophy is on it's round of the schools this morning visiting George Hicks as I type. Tickets sales are going fast for all days which is very promising and we may near the 2100 max capacity for Sunday's matches. 1. Peter De Vere 2. Shaun Bacon 3. John Wagner 4. Monet Du Toit 5. James Bovell 6. Jon Rew 7. Shaun Gerard 8. Campbell Law 9. Tony Elliott 10. Chris Bunce 11. Stuart McMillan 12. Stephen Hannon 13. Martin Livingston 14. Keswick Wright 15. Richard Tressider
Dinner speakers finalised for Harveys on Friday 18th 2008. Tom Jones IRB regional manager for NAWIRA (North American West Indies Rugby Association) will talk on regional development and achievement. Gregg Thomas, IRB Communications manager will talk about Rugby World Cup 2011 and previouse world cups and the plans of the IRB Tony Spreadbury who refereed the opening match of the 2007 RWC finals between France and Argentina will talk on his experiences as an IRB panel referee and the 2007 RWC opener and other Rugby world cups. 2 tables still available.
Potential exposure for the Cayman Islands, sports tourism (in particular rugby tours to CAyman) and rugby reach unprecedented heights for the sport. Total Rugby will produce two shows about the chmapionships, the island and island life which will air to over 145 million viewers. Total Rugby Radio have recorded a ten minute interview and will follow up with more over 134 million listeners will listen in. The Daily Telegraph with a daily readership of 1.1 million will be reporting on the week as well as writing daily on the blog with a readership of 10 million per day, Rugby World magazine will be producing a six to eight page spread and is the world's most popular rugby magazine. There will also be several other news agencies in attendance with several other publications.
. Opening ceremonies taking shape and change of venues announced. The opening ceremonies will take place at TRuman Bodden stadium commencing at 9:30 am when a youth and women's rugby demonstration match will be played. The tournament will be opened at 10:15 and the Trinidad V Cayman game will kick off at 10:30 am. On Wednesday April 23rd and and Saturday April 26th all games will be played at the South Sound Rugby Pitch. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NO PARKING WILL BE ALLOWED AT THE RUGBY PITCH OR OUTSIDE THE RUGBY PITCH. Park and ride will be in effect from Truman Bodden Stadium to the pitch and back all day on both days.
National squad has penultimate training session this evening prior to their encounter with Trinidad on Sunday. The squad is settled and all injury worries with the exception of Phil O'Connor are now settled. The coching staff are expected to make their final squad selections this evening and name the starting line up.
The national squad lost a hard fought game to the Barbarians 17 - 12 but showed marked improvement in their target areas of scrummage, line out and penetration against what was after all a very skilled and able opposition. In total nine changes were made by the coaching staff in the second half which further effected the balance of the performance but players had to be tried and tested. Six squad members were rested or unavailable and as many of four of these players would be expected to be starting on Sunday. It was and excellent test of the team and overall the commitment shown was excellent.
The World Cup Squad will play a Cayman Barbarians team this Saturday April 12th at 4:30 pm in their last warm up game before the start of the qualifiers next Sunday. The game is expected to be extremely competitive with many of the new players who have arrived in Cayman over the past 36 months taking the field against their Cayman counterparts. The game will be verey bit as tough as those to follow next week and will be a good indication of where exactly the squad stands. Much work has gone into the Line out and scrummage after the Browns matches and some adjustments have also been made the the three quarter style of play. The defence has been improved as well so all in all this should be a thrilling encounter.
Training continued to go well this Sunday as the finishing touches were put into the game plan. A couple of injury worries continue with Livingstone suffering from a slight calf pull, Doak and Gerard with sore ankles and Rossiter with a finger injury. The team now settles back as it revises and polishes the styles of play over the next two weeks.
The players on the squad are looking forward to the weekend off from competitive Rugby and will enjoy the rest and recuperation. The squad has a full session planned for Sunday where all of the finishing touches will be added to the team's game plans and styles of play. Likely a long session but low intensity. This will give the squad two more sessions to rehearse prior to the last warm up game against the rest of the club players on Saturday April 12th at 4pm. Injury news is looking much better with news that O'Connor has a hairline fracture whcih may well recover in time for April 20th. Wright is having intense phyiotherapy on a leg injury and his prognosis is good. Josh Clark will be returning to join the squad and will strengthen the back row and make the job for the selcetors that much harder. McMillan, Dow and Elliot will also be back for the champs. Richard Tressider ran well and pain free at Wednesday's session as did Bunce and the three quarters looked calm, composed and in control with their game after a few adjustments to the game plan. Law is recovering well from a leg injury and Stewart's hand is improving all of the time. Bacon is still having some small back issues but will be fine by the start of the championships. 04/04/08 The William Webb Ellis Trophy - itinerary Friday April 18th - planned for school visits during the day Friday April 18th - RWC Fundraising dinner Saturday April 19th - Public display at Hurley's Grand Harbor 9am - 12pm Saturday April 19th - planned for more public display Saturday April 19th - planned for public display in the evening Sunday April 20th - On Display at the RWC opening matches Sunday April 20th - Planned for VIP reception after the close of days play 03/04/08
Tickets for the qualifiers will be on sale at Hurley's Grand Harbor, Harveys restaurant, Stingers Restaurant, the Lobster Pot Restaurant, REMAX and the South Sound Rugby Club starting on Wednesday April 16th. Media campaign set to start on Tuesday April 8th with radio, newspaper and poster campaign.Tickets go on sale April 16th RWC Qualifier Dinner announced The CRFU is pleased to announce that a RWC Qualifier fundraising dinner will be held at Harveys restaraunt on Friday April 18th starting at 7:30pm with a champagne reception. Dinner will be at 8pm with speeches from Mr. Jacques Laurans of the IRB, who will talk about RWC, Mr. Tom Jones of NAWIRA and the IRB Regional development manager, will talk about Rugby and development within NAWIRA and Mr. Tony Spreadbury has been asked to talk about refereeing the opening game of the 2007 RWC match between Argentina and host union France that started the most highly viewed RWC ever at over 4 billion viewers.The William Webb Ellis Trophy will be on display at the dinner. Tables only are for sale at $3000 each for ten persons. Contact RWC Dinner to book. Places are limited to 100 guests. 4 tables remain for sale!
Injuries worry coach Grizz as the championships near. Dynamic new winger Phil O'Connor suffered a hairline fracture of his clavicle last Saturday in the DHL Storm V BPC Buccaneers match that may keep him out of the final 22 man squad for April 20th. Several other players are sporting niggling injuries and the technical director is pushing for national squad members to have the weekend off from Waterford Alex Alexander Cup action to allow the healing process to continue, a popular m,ove with the players some of who played three intense matches last week alone. This weekends games can move to May 10th now that the Corporate Mixed Sevens date has been moved to June to allow the National Women's team who will be in Guyana at their own championships to participate in this very popular annual event. It is expected that the remainder of the players who are not eligible to play for Cayman will now hold their own trial match on Satutrday before selecting the team that will face Cayman on the 12th as the squads last warm up before facing Trinidad and Tobago on the 20th. This team is expected to be at least as strong if not stronger than the opposition the National squad will face being made up of many excellent players who are not yet eligible to represent the national team. Not much is known about Trinidad, the last time the two teams met in 2001 they were seperated by four points when Trinidad won 12 points to 8 and then went on to baet Bermuda in the final. Since then neither side has seen the other play except at sevens so specific preparation will be tough for both teams and adjustments will have to be made throughout the match. Adams however was pleased with the way the squad played against Browns despite some weak areas that need to be addressed. "On the whole the players rose to the occaision and in terms of styles of play showed that they could handle different styles at different times and that the decision making processes in the end were the right ones as the team ran in four un-answered tries in the last thirty minutes against a well drilled, young and very fit University side, when we may have expected that trend to go the other way had they been in error. Yes we had lots of unforced handling errors which have to go, we have repaired the line out and strengthened the scrummage further in recent sessions. As a squad we will now discard some parts of the style we struggled with and add others areas that worked well for us in order to mould our game shape into a pattern the players are comfortable with and can manipulate and execute. Current players competing for a final 22 squad place (Total 31) Fwds: Wagner, Arscott, Stewart, Bacon, Kehoe, DeVere, DuToit, Bovell, Phipps, Dilbert, Bishop, Clark, Rew, Law, Gerard & Watkins Backs: Cumber, Elliott, Bell, Bunce, Hannon, Rossiter, Tressider, Livingstone, Doak, Wright, O'Connor, McMillan, Akiwumi, Aquart & Dow,
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Chloe.