GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (CMC):
Trinidad and Tobago produced a stunning performance to defeat the Cayman Islands 79-0 and capture the NAWIRA Women's Rugby Championship which ended last Saturday at the National Park here.
Guyana finished second after scoring a narrow 13-10 victory over defending champions Jamaica, who had to settle for third, while the Cayman Islands closed in the cellar spot.
The Trinidadians ended the tournament with two wins and one draw, a record similar to that of the Guyanese, while the Jamaicans had one win and two losses. The Cayman Islands failed to register a win.
The win meant that Trinidad and Tobago, who won the title by virtue of a higher scoring aggregate, completed the regional double, following their male counterparts' triumph last month in the Cayman Islands.
The champs started the game knowing that they needed to beat the opposition by at least 41-0 to put pressure on the locals and they got into stride quickly and led 19-0 at the half.
No one could have predicted what occurred in the second period as the floodgates were literally kicked open and they added another 60 points in an affair that resembled a training session rather than a contest befitting an international fixture.
On target for the winners were captain Julianna Staker, who scored three tries and netted six conversions, while Alicia Edgar, Abigail Roberts, Kwanzie John and Latoya Edwards all contributed two tries.
Uphill task
In the feature match-up, Guyana, already faced with an uphill task of needing to score a big win, never developed any sort of rhythm and were held 3-3 at the break, with Andrea Lashley and Anna-Kay Morrison each netting a penalty.
In the second half, Guyana forged ahead 6-3 through a Collette Hope penalty, but Jamaica responded with a penalty try that was converted by Morrison for a 10-6 advantage.
Tight defending by the visitors thwarted any attack by the Guyanese and it took a determined late push that saw Theresa Torres end over the try-line to save the locals any embarrassment.
Lashley then converted shortly before the final whistle to signal the end of a close and tough contest.
