SPORTS

Six teams participated in the recent Inter Schools Rugby Competition at the South Sound Rugby Club.

The event was held on Friday 2 June, with teams from John Gray High School, Cayman Prep School, and St Ignatius taking part.

The six participating teams were split into two groups of three, with John Gray A, St Ignatius B, and John Gray C in the first group, and Cayman Prep, St Ignatius A, and John Gray B in the second group.

Each team played every other team in their group, before the teams proceeded to the next round, where the winner of each group would contest the first place playoff. The runner's up in the group phase would contest the third-place playoff, with the teams scoring the lowest in the group phase taking one another on in the wooden spoon match.

Competition was fast and furious from the opening whistle, with the players not shying away from massive tackles that were met with roars of approval from the stands.

The many familiar faces from local youth football and other sports showed that sporting talent is certainly transferable between different sports, as the transition from kicking the ball to carrying it did not seem a very difficult one.

In spite of a number of misunderstandings regarding the exact rules - a favourite being using takeout tactics on defenders to protect the ball carrier - the players soon got into the swing of things, and displayed some exceptional ball skills.

There were also some displays of straight-line speed that might have been of interest to local track and field coaches, as participants streaked clear of the opposition to score under the posts.

As the group phase came to a close, St Ignatius A and John Gray A emerged as the top teams, proceeding to the playoff for first place.

John Gray B and John Gray C advanced to the third place playoff, with Cayman Prep and St Ignatius B ending up in the wooden spoon match.

St Ignatius B made up for their performance in the group stage as they took a solid 14-5 win over Cayman Prep. Accurate kicking made a big difference in the match, with St Ignatius converting both of their tries to keep well clear of Cayman Prep.

The third-place playoff ran true to form as John Gray B defeated John Gray C 10-7. The B team could have recorded a bigger winning margin, had their kicking not let them down.

They were unable to convert either of their two tries, leaving themselves vulnerable against a C team making the most of their scoring opportunities. Although they could only register a single try, John Gray C managed to convert their try to remain well within striking distance of their more favoured schoolmates.

The final was a tough battle between John Gray A and St Ignatius A, with the top teams justifying their A rating.

The tenacious St Ignatius defence provided John Gray with a nasty surprise, as they found themselves unable to cross the try line even once. On their part, St Ignatius can count themselves lucky that their two missed conversions did not come back to haunt them as they registered a 10-0 win to take the tournament.

eugene@caymannetnews.com