Aug 10, 2008

CANAM 2008 – Saranac Lake, New York State.

At the beginning of August the TCI Rugby Football Union sent a rugby team to the north of upstate New York to compete in the annual CANAM Rugby tournament. This annual rugby tournament is billed as the largest in the world, and this was the first time that the TCI had entered a team in the competition..

The TCI team left Provo on Friday August 1st, and after a full days travelling, was based in Lake Placid, upstate New York. They were joined by 100 different men’s and women’s teams from all over North America and Canada. Game day was Saturday August 2nd, and the first game kicked off at an early 8am with the TCI team bounding into their first game of tourney against a fired up Keene State Alumni side. An open game ensued with the forwards winning plenty of ball and the backs carving some good line breaks. Good interplay saw the TCI team dot down 4 times and hold the opposition scoreless. Try scorers were Pierre Magnier in the first half, a step inside the outside back marking him close to the line; Blair Mason and Daryl Crawford both good tries from broken play, and finally Gareth Butler swooped on loose ball for an opportunistic sprint to the line in the second half. A great start for the TCI boys and they went back to the hotel full of confidence that they would be able to compete, and compete well in the tournament. A short rest and some refreshments saw the team ready for the next match at 1pm.

Returning to Saranac Lake the heavens opened, thunder and lightning abounded and some very cold, Caribbean fair weather rugby players huddled in the cars waiting for a break in the weather. This duly came but left handling conditions very slippery. After a Jamie Tait led warm-up they were back on the field and ready to take on Magna’s Merry Men, a team that had looked impressive in their first outing shortly after our first game. Low and behold, the TCI pack stepped up to the mark and delivered the opposition a sterling lesson in scrimmaging and forward play that they had never seen before. Led from the front by the Irish imported front row of Paul Laffin and Neale Richmond (with Pierre Magnier hanging between them), the pack dominated all facets of the game and secured the platform for a great win. Three scores (2 converted) gave a score-line of 19–0 and TCI were through to the semi finals. Tries to Paul Laffin, from loose play fending off players close to the line, belonger Sean O’Neill in similar fashion, and a great pushover to Neil French from the 8 man position. From the backs vantage point it was to see the forwards taking it to the opposition, and providing a strong platform for Jamie Tait and Simon Taylor to control the game. Congratulations were traded at the end of the match with the Magna’s wishing TCI well for the rest of the tournament. Back they trudged to the hotel for more recovery. The bodies were beginning to feel pretty jaded by this stage and it was going to take a big effort to come back at 5pm for the semi final.

But back they did come and having lost Dorel Williams to a hamstring injury TCI fielded the same pack, with Keith Burant and Richard Desmond as forward reserves and Chris Gaskin being promoted to starting position on the wing. The game started with a hiss and a roar, the pack full of confidence, after dispatching Magna’s, but the Akron Rugby opposition were a step up from the previous opponents. The team from Ohio had a pack of equal measure and quality in the backline. Notwithstanding this TCI opened the scoring with a break by Paul Laffin through the middle of the opposition which led to space for an offload to Dave Janney who scored next to the posts. 7–0 and TCI were off to a great start. Akron regrouped however and following a march downfield secured their first points with a drop goal from their fly-half. 7–3 became 10–7 as a well constructed interchange of passes saw Akron score their first try. Half time led a stern team talk from Stitch who minded the boys that they were competing at scrum time and line­outs, and that they just needed to keep the ball tight and play the ruck game close to the forwards. Play resumed, the TCI substitutes came on and the team battled away in deteriorating conditions. Akron played a well constructed game plan using their backs to good effect with clever passing, and was not afraid to send the ball wide in wet conditions. Despite some ferocious TCI defence, this eventually resulted in gaps appearing in the TCI defensive line. Whilst there was a 15 min period midway through the second half where the TCI forwards established good go forward with pick and go tactics, the Akron backs began to show their skills. With a weight advantage in the backs, they started to break the line and eventually the pressure told with two tries in the last minutes of the fame. Final score was 24—7 with Akron going through to the finals. They went on to face the Ottawa Indians in the final on Sunday, going down 24—5.

So three games later ­ TCI had made the last four in their 16 team division and distinguished themselves well. Post play celebrations ensued, and the team took the opportunity to watch some of the other games and establish contact with some of the other clubs participating in the tournament. d

Returning home on Monday, the team can look back on a very successful tour, which resulted in some fine rugby, a useful result and the prospect of more rugby to come in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Next year will see the TCI Rugby Football union send another larger squad to compete with the aim of claiming the title. .

TCI RFU Touring party