There seems to be no stopping Rogues Rugby Club. Having emerged champions in all three Tag Rugby Tournaments, they continued their winning streak on Sunday at the La Clery Playing Field, this time in a Rugby 7’s Tournament which they hosted.
Competing were six male teams consisting of Rogues, Renegades, Whiptail Warriors, Boys Training Centre (BTC), Reela and Monchy Sharks. Two female teams also took part: R and R (a combination of Rogues and Renegades players) and Whiptail Warriors. The two female teams played three matches. R and R won all three games in convincing fashion 35-0, 24-5 and 21-0.
After the preliminary round matches for the male teams, the quarter finals followed with Renegades blanking BTC 22-0 and Rogues whipping Whiptail Warriors 24-7. As a result, Whiptail Warriors and BTC were schedule to play for third place with Renegades and Rogues meeting in the final.
For unknown reasons BTC conceded resulting in Whiptail Warriors being awarded third place. It was a heated final between the undefeated champions of Tag Rugby 5’s Rogues and Renegades who looked to put an end to their opponents win streak. Early on it looked as if Renegades would upset the champs. At the half they were ahead 7-0. However, early in the second half Rogues tied the game 7-7.
With one minute to go in the final, Flavien “Oscar” Gabriel of Renegades scored a try for five more points. However, just before the final whistle, Jerry Charles of Rogues tied the score for a further five points. In the end Charles broke the deadlock on a conversion giving Rogues Rugby Club a 14-12 victory.
Commenting on the Tournament, Charles who is a player and coach with Rogues Rugby Club said: “What I took from today is that the intensity since the break is way up there. There is a whole new range of guys coming in and displaying a lot of talent and intensity from tag rugby and we now see that the tackling has got better. The sky is the limit for Saint Lucia rugby.”
Final Results: 1st Rogues Rugby Club, 2nd Renegades, 3rd Whiptail Warriors.
Technical Director Wayne Pantor labeled the tournament as a success as the players and coaches returned to contact rugby. Also the new national development players got the opportunity to practice what was taught on various aspects of the game. The second in a series Rugby 7’s tournaments hosted by Renegades takes place Sunday September 27 at Vigie Playing Field.
