By Calvin Roberts
A youthful Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Rugby squad, buoyed by their upset victory over defending champions Jamaica in the first round, is set to engage host Guyana today in their second round clash in the Demlife/Tropical Rhythm-sponsored North American West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) /Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Women’s 15-a-side tournament at the National Park today from 16:00hrs.
In the first game that commences at 14:00hrs defending champions Jamaica will be looking to etch their names in the points column when they take on debutantes Cayman Islands at the same venue.
But the match-up that is likely to stir interest will be the Trinidad/Guyana clash and according to coach of the Twin Island Republic, Simone Andrews Nero, they would not be taking the Guyanese or any other team lightly.
“We never take anything for granted. We have respect for any team that plays women’s rugby as it is not an easy sport. We will be going up against Guyana who is ranked number two with confidence and whatever is the outcome, we would be happy with same as our game is still in the developmental process, but my philosophy is once you come out and play positive and you have a good organizational structure, you can be competitive as a unit. You also need to stick to the basics in order to achieve your success.”
Andrews-Nero further told Stabroek Sport during a break from her team’s training session at Independence Park yesterday that she is very proud of her team’s come-from-behind 10-12 victory over Jamaica in their first round clash, taking into consideration the compilation of the team.
“When you take a look at this team, you can see it is a very young one with an average of 19. We even brought two young players ages 14 and 15 years but were told by the tournament organizers that they can’t play due to their age. We have eight persons here who are making their debut to this game. We have been forced into this position due to the timings of the tournament.”
She further stated: ”We have been getting players from the schools who had to be excused from their examinations that is presently ongoing. Due to the restructured work that is presently ongoing with Trinidad and Tobago rugby, we were still able to field a team to participate in this tournament and more so defeat Jamaica in a game we played without making any substitutions. However, we won’t be carried away with the win over Jamaica and become complacent against the Guyanese who dominated the Cayman Islands in their 41-0 route.”
“We are taking baby steps as we proceed further into this tournament. We are looking at the little things that will help us in our achievements as a developmental team. We are also the youngest team in size and age, but our concerns have a lot to do outside of the fanfare and the atmosphere of the tournament,” Andrews-Nero further stated.
Trinidad and Tobago will be hoping their inspirational 19-year- old captain Juliana Straker has another exemplary game against the host if they intend to stop the rampant Guyanese. Also expected to feature in this encounter is full back Merlin Blackford who will be having a herculean task on her hands when she faces the lightening quickness of Abigail Tinnis from Guyana.
Whichever way it goes, an exciting game can be expected once the visitors play the way they did against the Jamaicans in this encounter.
