Twenty-nine U19 rugby players called up for NACRA tournament

Twenty-nine rugby players have been selected to commence training from today at the National Park rugby field in preparation for the North American and West Indies Rugby Association (NACRA) Under-19 15s tournament which kicks off on July 6 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Training will commence at 16:30hrs.

This year’s tournament will see a record number of teams competing; hence there will be a division similar in fashion as the IRB U20, with a Cup competition for the top tier teams and a Trophy competition for the less celebrated teams in the region.

According to NACRA it is anticipated that with similar numbers competing in the future, there will be regular promotion and relegation between the two competitions.

Promotion and relegation between NACRA Cup and Trophy will be considered after the tournament, based on standard of performance.

While the Cup Competition sees the powerhouses in Bermuda, T&, Mexico, Cayman, Barbados and Jamaica, the Trophy format will see a plethora of relatively unknown teams at the U-19 level, with the likes of Turks and Caicos Islands and St Lucia, both of whom will be making their debuts at the regional U19 level.

The performance of the local U-19 ruggers will come under the microscope as competition for the teens has been relatively absent for many years.

The format of the tournament was decided on Monday and the Cup competition or Group A consists of Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Jamaica, and Group B consists of T&T, Mexico and Barbados.

The fixtures are: July 6 – Bermuda versus Jamaica and T&T versus Mexico; July 7 – TCI versus Bahamas and Guyana versus St Lucia; July 8 – Cayman versus Jamaica and Barbados versus Mexico; July 9 – TCI versus Guyana and Bahamas versus St Lucia; July 10 – Cayman versus Bermuda and T&T versus Barbados; July 11 – No matches – development and planning session workshop.

On the final two days, July 12 – TCI faces St Lucia and Bahamas tackles Guyana then on July 13 – the finals, third in Pool A versus third in Pool B, second in Pool A versus second in Pool B and first in Pool A versus first in Pool B.

The shortlisted national team reads: Levi  Mitchell, Shaquille  McBean, Shaquille  Paul, Kevin  Joseph, Dellon  Jones, Osafo  Selman, Orande  Mc Donald, David  Lowenfield, Ryan  Aimran, Terrence  Clarke, Joshua  Allen, Telroy  Mc Calmont, Jermaine  Leacock, ,
Jason  Solomon, Carl  Rebby, Allister  Peters, Iswar  Dean  Bhoopa, Troyton  Braithwaite, Shaquille  Brummel, Trevon  Davidson, Fidel  Neils, Elroy  Gibbons, Shaquvan  Williams, Daniel  DeAbreu, Floyd  Sealey, Christopher  McLennon, Jeffon Bowen, Dean  Peters and Loranzo  Forde.