Northern’s loss hands Caribs League title

Caribs RFC successfully defended their league title in the T&T Rugby League without even stepping onto the field at the weekend (September 14-15).

With 27 points from seven matches, the Caribs men faced a mathematical possibility of a lone victory when they faced the Royals later this week. They could have been caught only by Northern, who, on 22 points, needed to win its next two encounters last week and this week.

However, that calculation was thrown off by the Northern’s 44-24 loss to the Royals, giving the multiple-times League champions Caribs yet another silverware to add to their cabinet.

Apart from the Northern/Royalians encounter, Harvard also flexed their muscles against the Defence Force at the weekend, courtesy of two tries and four conversions from Nigel Ballington, which handed the St. Clair men the victory.

There were also tries from Joseph Quashie, Nicholas Mayhew, Damian Wilkinson, and Joshua Hector, as well as a penalty corner, which accounted for seven points.

The win for the Caribs has put them on course for a clean sweep of the titles this year. Their next two meetings will be against archrivals Northern in the Knockout on October 5 and for the Bruno Browne Cup on October 12 at a venue to be decided.

Tuesday (September 17), Caribs coach Richard Staglon said while he expected his team to seal the league title, they were surprised by the loss by Northern to the Royalians and also by such a large margin.

“I think it came as the Royals have struggled all season, so they came back with a big win at the weekend. Now we are looking for a clean sweep of the titles,” Staglon told Guardian Media Sports.

Caribs were denied the clean sweep last year when they were beaten by Royalians in the semifinal of the knockout. Northern went on to clinch that crown; however, the Caribs’ men secured the league title and the Bruno Browne Cup.

Staglon is also certain of the triple crown, believing their Northern rival cannot beat them this year. “If they beat us, it would be an upset. We have the measure of them,” Staglon said.

Meanwhile, Caribs President Reinaldo Bermudez also echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying, “Harvard is never an easy team as they are stacked with so many experienced players; however, Caribs’ simple game can break them down. We play basic rugby; we take the simple approach, very simple by playing a possession game. Once you keep the game away from Harvard, they tend to become frustrated, and that is where the cracks will show,” Bermudez explained.