Touch rugby heating up the summer

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 12 July 2017

Howard Byrne from AON Advisors sucks in the EY defense to pass off to his son Tommy Byrne to score a try.

After the first three rounds of the Tradeview Markets Corporate Summer Touch Rugby League 2017, teams are beginning to show their worth, organise their game plans and lay down a marker for the season.

In the Premier League, it is no surprise that the only two teams still undefeated are Delta and last year’s champions, Genesis. Both play a high tempo, high energy game with try scoring options all over the field. Genesis may have lost the talismanic Neil Montgomery but have recruited well with some young bucks coming in to compliment the team’s veterans.

Whilst these two may be a stretch ahead of the rest it is testimony to the strength of the Division that all other matches are relatively close. It will be interesting to see how player absences over the summer may affect the current hierarchy. Kalo Advisors are a new name to Summer Touch but have already opened their account with a win. Estera have slipped to the foot of the table but from the fertile soil dug from the Appleby orchard, they are likely to bear some juicy fruit.

Special mention must go to Heineken Red Stars. Not so much for their results but the fact that half of them can even get on the pitch at all. The venerability of their menfolk may require a qualified nurse to be permanently stationed at pitch side to administer life-saving oxygen or, more importantly, thirst-quenching Heineken. Thankfully, the women players are awesome and carry the men like the Amazonian warriors they are.

The Invitational Division (in old money – Division 2) has newly-promoted Collas Crill as the only undefeated team. MUFG Investor Services seem to have all the attacking flair with a “Tries Scored” total nearly double that of their nearest opponent, with a whopping 44 scored. Their defence is the meanest too with only six conceded. Fund Fiduciaries Partners U16, drawn from the squad of last year’s Social Division Champions have started well, but this is a step up and a real challenge.

Maples 2, whom in previous years have battled away in the Premier League, are struggling at the foot of the table. It’s early days though and they can still recover to aspire to reach mid-table.

Jake Bailey for the Cayman Junior Rugby Trust Team takes the ball in to set up a winning move.

In the Recreational Division, all plaudits must go to the Cayman Turtles U14. With players drawn from the Cayman Junior Rugby program, this bunch of rugby ragamuffins are quickly gelling into a fearsome force.

Buzzing in defence like an angry swarm of army ants, they quickly suffocate any attack they encounter. In offense, they have gained confidence with each game and could be trouble for those teams who they have left to play. Their speed across the ground is deceptive and defences have been left chasing shadows in the setting sun.

This is a big Division with 16 teams so the season is very much a marathon not a sprint. DMS and Island Heritage are also undefeated.

For some this is their first season of touch rugby so the learning curve is steep. “The emphasis here is on the word “social” though and the game is as much about what happens off the pitch as on it. Tradeview Markets have really embraced this sport and if the matches served up so far is anything to go by we are in for a fabulous season of summer touch rugby,” a league spokesperson said.

Photos and story submitted.