Crocs, Lady Crocs near-perfect at RAN Sevens
Published:Tuesday | November 26, 2024 | 12:08 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA RUGBY celebrated podium finishes for both the men’s and women’s teams at the recently concluded Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens tournament as the Crocs took the bronze medal in Men’s Tier One competition, while the Lady Crocs took silver in their top-tier tourney.
The Crocs defeated Mexico 12-0 in the bronze-medal match in the men’s competition, while the Lady Crocs fell 19-12 against Mexico in the women’s final held on Sunday in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago.
For the men’s team, the bronze-medal win provided sweet revenge against the Mexicans, who they had lost to in pool play across the three-day competition.
The Crocs had finished second in Pool B behind Mexico after recording two wins and one loss.
The team had opened their campaign with a hard-fought one-point win over Cayman Islands, clipping their Caribbean neighbours 22-21 before a comfortable 17-5 victory over hosts, Trinidad.
Their winning form did not last, however, as in their final match of Pool B, they fell 12-10 to Mexico.
Jamaica would go on to comfortably get by Guyana 38-12 in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champions Canada, 26-0, in the semifinals.
In the bronze-medal match, the Crocs opened a 7-0 lead heading into half-time through a Roman Priestley-Nangle try. They would continue their good form in the second half and extend their lead to 12-0 at the end.
The Lady Crocs started the tournament with a dominant 40-12 victory over the Dominican Republic.
They took their winning form into day two, clipping Trinidad 12-10 after trailing 10-0 at half-time.
However, like their male counterparts, Jamaica would lose their third match against Mexico as the Lady Crocs were defeated 19-12 but recovered with a heavy 35-0 win over Trinidad ‘B’.
The Lady Crocs closed out pool play with a 22-5 win over Barbados and booked their spot in the final against Mexico.
Captain Veronica Blair showed her turn of pace in the final as she completed the first try of the contest with a herculean effort to put Jamaica up 7-5 at the half-time break.
Yet, it was a bitter end for the Lady Crocs as tied 12-12 with mere seconds on the clock, Esthefanny Espindola broke through the Jamaican line to snatch the win for Mexico.
Both teams finished one place better than they did last year.