Rugby boss hopes RAN brings more local development
Published:Wednesday | July 12, 2023 | 12:06 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA RUBGY Union (JRU) chairman, Jerry Benzwick, is not just hoping for repeat success in their second consecutive staging of the Rugby America’s North (RAN) Men’s Under-19 and Senior Women’s XV’s tournament, but also for the continued development of local talent that can compete on the world stage.
The five-day tournament gets under way today from the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Bowl with the Jamican women starting their camapign against Mexico while the Under-19s will open against Bermuda at 1:00 p.m.
Based on the positive feedback the JRU received last year, as well as a second nod as hosts, Beswick believes the sport has made strides.
“It speaks to our development as a country in union rugby. The fact that we were able to exeucte a good tourmamnet last year is the first thing that they said to us afterwards that ‘Hey if you wan to host again you are certinlty going to get the thumbs up because you guys did an amazing job’,” Benzwick told The Gleaner.”
Jamaica finished second in the tournament last year and there is a desire to repeat the same exploits for the under-19 as well as for the women, although they will field a team younger than previously.
“Especially for our women. One, we have a very comeptitive team and they are in a development stage. It is imporant to have a high finish because last year we finished second. So we have to have a high finish this year. As the hosts, it is on your shoulders to do that,” Benzwick said.
“Our boys are determined to win, our women are determined to win but this year we have a younger women’s team than last year. So we will look at the women to see how well they do in their first couple of games and then we can say ‘they look like they can take it’.”
With the emphasis on improving the development of local talent in Jamaica, Beswick is hoping to foster an environment to not only strengthen the grassroots programme, but also to improve coaching as well.
“We are trying to create a situation in Jamaica where our players locally can get high-performance training. We haven’t gotten their yet. Most of players who would get high-performance trianing have to go overseas, be a part of a camp. But we are trying to create that energy here and get the personnel who can do it,” Benzwick said.
RAN general manager Niall Brooks empahsised the importance of Jamaica returning as hosts for the long-term future of the sport in the region.
“It is important that we have it (the tournament) to develop rugby in Jamaica. We need to get the youth and the chidlren and the women not just seven-a-side rubgy, but 15-a-side rugby leading to full international competition on the world stage,” Brooks said.
“This is kick-starting what we hope to do for four or five years going forward for both the senior men and senior women. “