[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t was dubbed the Magnificent Seven International Rugby Tournament which took place Saturday at the Sab Sporting Facility, however, after all was said and done two magnificent teams emerged.
Rogues Rugby Club won the men’s division and girls from Le Sport Rugby Club like they’ve done before captured the ladies division.
Prior to the tournament getting underway, there was a march pass with members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force leading the way followed by cheerleaders, referees and the competing teams.
After that there were brief remarks by President of the St. Lucia Olympic Committee Inc, Fortuna Belrose and President of the Whiptail Warriors Rugby Club, Colvis Samuels. Both officials greeted the teams.
On the men’s side the following teams competed in the tournament: Rogues Rugby Club, Whiptail Warriors Rugby Club, Stingers Rugby Club, Soufriere Lions Rugby Club, United Through Sports and Milat Juggernauts from Trinidad.
On the women’s side there was Whiptail Warriors Rugby Club, Stingers Rugby Club and Le Sport Rugby Club.
President of the Whiptail Warriors Rugby Club, Colvis Samuels said: “I think things went very well. We had a fairly late start about an hour or so, but everything came together at the end, where all the teams received some kind of recognition for their performance. It is a step in the right direction for us in developing some quality competition for our local players as we strive to be the best in the Caribbean, which will allow us to play or represent St Lucia at the Olympics. We are moving on from strength, but we are also pushing the board of rugby concept, where we do a lot around the sport as we seek to develop our players and members in general.
His only disappointment was the fact national teams from Guyana and Trinidad did not make the trip to St Lucia due to financial difficulties.
What can we expect next year? Samuels told me “We expect a bigger tournament, we already have confirmation from Jamaica and again from Guyana and Trinidad.
